In progress

K.A.I.R. – Košice Artist In Residence

About

Residential programme for artists from Slovakia and all over the world and from all artistic disciplines and genres. We give Slovaks a chance to travel to a foreign art centre for several months. We also regularly welcome talented people from abroad for a few months.

K.A.I.R. – Košice Artist In Residence provides the opportunity to work in Košice – in its inspiring environment with a unique cultural background and put together artistic projects, cooperate with the agile local art scene and present the local and national scene. This artistic, cultural and creative exchange helps to stimulate the Slovak art scene, contribute to the local environment and enriches local artists with international experience.

Activities

K.A.I.R. works on an international level. Each residency is either collaboration with a foreign artist or an organisation from Košice or concentrates on the creative work of a Slovak artist abroad. Over five years, they handled over 100 residencies. Artists are selected on the basis of open calls in collaboration with our international partners. So far we have sent and invited artists from different countries such as Poland, Germany, Georgia, Ukraine or Japan. At the same time, we can host 3 artists to promote exchange and dialogue between different spheres. In Košice, we provide them with accommodation, studios, financial and production support.

History

K.A.I.R. – Košice Artist in Residence, the international program for artistic residencies, was implemented in 2011 as one of the key activities within the Košice 2013 – European Capital of Culture (ECoC) project. After the ECoC, the organisation Košice 2013 changed its name to Creative Industry Košice. During this period, K.A.I.R. had a stable ground to develop its international activities through the rich network of partners. In 2016, K.A.I.R. became an independent entity.

This fit into the plan of Košice as it wanted to join the prestigious UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts network in 2017. Creative Industry Košice and K.A.I.R. continue to cooperate closely. They have been organizing media art residencies in Košice, which combine science and art.

Success stories

We support art on an international level
KAIR - Košice Artist in Residence is an international programme for artists from all over the world and from different artistic disciplines. It was established in 2011 as one of the key activities of the European Capital of Culture, and in 2016 it became independent. Today it operates internationally. KAIR gives artists the opportunity to work in Košice's inspiring environment with a unique cultural background to realize their art projects, work with an active local art scene and present themselves to the local and national public. KAIR is located in Šopa Gallery.  
Once you incubate, you can become independent
Projects which are developed under the umbrella of a larger organisation have the potential to become independent and operate more efficiently even afterwards. For example, K.A.I.R.- Kosice Artist in Residence become independent as well as the festival White Night. They were both at one time one of the key projects of the ECoC - the European Capital of Culture. In order to fully exploit their potential, they now operate as independent local cultural entities with their own capacities.Project K.A.I.R. has been undergoing an incubation phase over a number of years, during which the structure, objectives, network of partners, funding and the like have been set. In five years, we have managed to create a diverse and stable network of partners in the European Union, but also in Ukraine, Georgia and Japan. It is important for CIKE and the City of Košice to support and create a network of independent cultural entities and to separate from incubated projects.

For up-to-date challenges and residency info visit the project's official website.

www.kair.sk