After 2 years of hibernation, we are offering one printmaking workshop and one micro-residency program for the 2022 season in Leh, India. The pedagogical workshop is exclusively based on printmaking. The micro-residency is focussed on printed matter, photography and analogue darkroom photographic processes. Please go through the details below to apply. You can apply for only one residency. We will host a maximum of 5 resident artists each cohort.

In 2019, our last residency cycle titled ‘Swim across’ we wanted to philosophically understand the rivers of Ladakh. A river is a point, a line, and a surface, how do we negotiate our lives with its all three forms? The resident artists in 2019 engaged with the river in its different forms - metaphors of nature and culture in one of the highest habitable regions of the world. In 2022, we aim to engage with the geology, the water, and the sky of the high mountains again and their intersection with our contemporary condition. 

Photo from Goba Ali’s personal collection, Skardo Province, Baltistan, Pakistan. Made availaible to us generously by Goba Ali, Thang village, Norbra, Ladakh

How do we understand the contemporary condition of the nature-culture related indigenous societies in the high mountains of Ladakh? How do urban insertion of infrastructure for defence, security, tourism and institutional memory building like museums and memorial statues respond to indigenous lives? ‘Building’ is humankind’s constant attempt at swimming across, walking over and running towards. How do we understand ‘building’ ? Is it a process or is it a result? What is the relationship between ‘building’ and ‘unbuilding’?

The residency invites the artists to look at ‘building’ at a wide sense of it in the region and its relationship with the natural environment. ‘Building’ of the past and ‘building’ of the future. We are interested in developing and supporting projects which considers indigenous lives as an extension of its natural environment and critically looks the process and results of ‘building’. The residency titled on building is an ongoing attempt at walking the mountain, collect pieces of it and juxtapose with the contemporary condition of our lives.

Haruka Fukao’s (b.1992, Japan) performance
titled ‘Waiting to absorb, there will be no trace’ 2019 resident artist, Photo- Debasish Borah

10th July-16th July 2022

The workshop focusses exclusively on print-making. We will guide the participants through the printmaking techniques and processes of gum bicarbonate, screen printing, paper-making, and cyanotype. Artists will not necessarily develop a new project in Leh, but focus on learning the skills of printmaking and experiment with their existing body of works- images/drawings or both. We regularly develop B&W and/or colour negatives of 35 & 120 films. If interested you can also learn the basics of dark room negative development.

Beginner or intermediate artists working with photography/drawings or both with an interest in printmaking are invited to apply.

With a pedagogical approach, this workshop is aimed at creating art-prints and not books/zines. We expect each artist to donate one art-work made during the residency.

23rd July-5th August 2022

The micro-residency focusses on photography and photo-book/zine making; with workshops on analogue methods of darkroom photographic development processes. The resident artists will be guided to develop a photographic project based in Leh and create a photobook/zine. The artists will also be offered workshops on film development of 35 & 120 films both colour and B&W. Learning to develop B&W positive prints is also possible. Artists who have already photographed a project and want to create and potentially publish a book/zine with us are also welcome.

The resident artists will be actively supported to conceptually develop the project, curatorial support, infrastructure and production support, and we will closely collaborate with each artist to edit the photo-book/zine. If interested the artists can also use all the facilities, infrastructure and chemistry for printmaking like screen, cyanotype and salt prints. If you don’t have a film camera, you can take from us for the residency duration free of charge. You can bring your own films or buy from us at a no-profit basis.

The micro-residency is not pedagogical and we seek to host artists primarily working with photography and publishing with an existing body of works.

At the end of the residency, we expect each resident artist to create a photo-book or zine with a possibility to publish with us.

We take pride in offering support in the best of our abilities towards artists from underrepresented communities and regions. If you are an artist from Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir or the North-eastern states of India, we will offer you either of the residencies 100% free of charge. If you are eligible please mention on the application form. We will invite one artist each cohort in this category.