Arquetopia’s artist residencies are designed with a decolonial framework that challenges traditional narratives and promotes diverse perspectives in art and cultural practices. These residencies offer artists the opportunity to engage deeply with local communities, traditions, and knowledge systems in Oaxaca, Puebla, and Cusco. By immersing themselves in the rich cultural contexts of these regions, artists can critically examine and reinterpret their own work in relation to the histories and contemporary realities of the Global South.
The decolonial framework at Arquetopia emphasizes: contextual learning, critical reflection, intercultural dialogue and an ethical engagement with the artistic practice.
By exposing artists to non-dominant forms of thinking and knowledges, Arquetopia encourages artists to challenge and expand their ideas. Arquetopia’s residencies ultimately aim to create a space where artists can rethink their practices by challenging history and dominant forms of knowledge by emphasizing intuition and critical perspectives.
The Natural Pigments Instructional Residency is a 3-week mentored production residency that includes 27 hours of master instruction in diverse techniques from Oaxaca, Mexico or Cusco, Peru, which vary depending on the supporting fiber; the options are wool and cotton. Residents learn preparations and traditional recipes to prepare and use natural dyes, mordents, and fixatives.
The program includes hands-on instruction with cochineal (ranging from red to purple), añil (blue), and pericon(yellow) from Mexico, Tara and blue collpa (blue), and Q’olle flowers (yellow) from Peru, as well as some tree barks and fruit skins to complete the color spectrum. This residency is a comprehensive program to learn the natural dyes tradition with specific ingredients corresponding to Oaxaca or Cusco including resources for a better understanding of the complex culture of Mexico or Peru and the history of its colors. Instruction is in Spanish, though resident artists need not speak Spanish in order to successfully complete the course. Individual mentoring is provided by our directorial and curatorial staff for personalized research assistance/resources, project guidance, and critique; participants of this program also work independently in our spaces.
Find out more about this residency HERE
