The BAC Trans Culture Camp project is a multiple mechanism-based holistic community outreach program with the motive to support, educate and make youth aware/mobilized through the arts, by producing profiling opportunities and exposure in the changing socio-cultural context of Nepal, especially after the earthquake(s) of 2015. As the project name suggests, it has a special purpose and focuses on art as a powerful medium for transformational social and cultural change.
There are three major components of this project that leads to reaching its goal.
1. Support Development Camp at BAC
The ’Support Development Camp’ as the first component of the project is 3 to 6 months in and out camp, where all participating creative youth will work under the supervision of BAC and the external facilitators. During the camp period, there will be a series of transmedia and visual documentation workshops and training. This will not only provide a workspace to produce artworks but also a platform for networking, exchange with visiting artists, musicians, writers and other professionals. In the meantime, they will also work and prepare for the second component, the Community Outreach Camp. At the end of the session, artists will have to prepare an open exposition to the public.
Detailed action plans:
1.1 What is the goal(s) Support Development Camp?
- To empower and support the local community, aspiring and emerging artists by providing workspace and artwork production fund
- To develop technical skills and networks by offering mentorship, workshops and training
- To empower and support by offering local and international exposure
1.2 What does the Support Development Camp consist of?
- Each session consists of three months of studio work at the BAC based on transmedia and culture and a two week Community Outreach Camp in a given specific district.
- Training and workshops on transmedia and documentation by local as well as international professionals
- Continuous guidance and mentorship by BAC
- Talks, presentations and interaction by participating artists, as well as by external visiting professionals
- Planning and preparation for the second component, the ‘community outreach camp’
- A grand exposition at the end of the session including the report, document from the community outreach camp
2. Community Outreach Camp
The second component of the project ‘community outreach camp’ is a two weeks long community evolving (teach and learn) camp. This will work primarily in 2 districts especially earthquake affected areas/ the Terai region of Nepal. This program will focus on redefining public spaces incorporating performance art, installation, projection mapping, films etc. The two weeks long camp will be the outcome of long and careful preparation and be lead by 5 selected artists and BAC executive members. They will work in collaboration with community schools, local clubs, neighborhoods and local organizations.
Detailed action plans:
2.1 What is the goal(s) of the Community Outreach Camp?
The main goal(s) of the ‘Community Outreach Camp’ is to expand the generic understanding of art and trans culture, to introduce diverse forms of art, activism and raise awareness at the grassroots level. The followings are the numeric goals of the community outreach camp.
- To transform public spaces into something cool, artistic that might change the perceptions of the public and viewers about the given subject and topics that the themes of the artwork created.
- To inspire young people from diverse backgrounds to make visual arts a part of their lives.
- To bring education in art and design to the neighborhoods.
- To inform young people about art and design career opportunities.
2.2 What does the Community Outreach Camp consist of?
- We will encourage each participating artist to explore their discipline with the local community youth, students and teachers through a variety of components that may include workshops, classes, discussion, mentorship, rehearsals, performance.
- Public art and neighborhood beautification, including installation art, performance, murals, video projection, public screening and art exhibits.
- Each camp will have 2-5 artists from BAC (including international artists/facilitators) and work with 15-25 local community participants. The first camp will take place in around May- Jun 2016 and the second in round September- October 2016
- Each camp will conclude with the final public opening in a particular community and back in Kathmandu.
3. International Exchange as a part of the project
Cultural exchange, networking and international exposure is one of the main objectives of the project. Therefore, we highly appreciate the support for this particular part of the project by international funding partners and arts organizations who also want to represent their artists.
3.1 Invitation to International artists/ facilitators to Nepal
During the ‘Support Development Camp as the first component of the project, we will have a series of workshops and training on transmedia and documentation, therefore, we would like to invite international artists as participating exchange residence artist or professionals as a facilitator just to conduct a workshop for each session. The artists/ facilitator may stay two weeks to three months as one of participating the artist(s)/ facilitator.
3.2 International real-time video symposium initiative with the UK Nepal Friendship Society Nepal International Arts Programme [NIAP]
We are also developing a dedicated international video teaching-learning component to the project: this would provide the opportunity for real-time distance teaching-learning to strengthen its international artistic community outreach/publicity.
The project is intended to have a special international dimension, connecting up international artists in the UK from a range of visual and performing arts via the BAC with the 5 artists, and potential international resident artists/collaborators based at the BAC during the 3 months of the Support Development Camp, and potentially at some of the Community Outreach Camps. The symposia would connect to UK and potentially later to other European and international artists and creative individuals to share common themes around activism, equality and empowerment through the arts.
This feature of the project would provide a valuable international dimension for the work and vision of the artists involved in the project and potential international exposure for the ideas and values their Project work conveys, with the further benefit of connecting international artistic communities for profiling issues and topics around social activism equality and empowerment in Nepal and in the UK/the West.
The project will capture high-quality highlights from these envisaged symposia and providing this in a compilation that will be streamed on YouTube and other relevant social media video channels: this with a view to maximizing international outreach for the social activism equality and empowerment topics the symposia would cover, thereby reaching creative audiences/younger artist communities with interest in these, worldwide, and with the further purpose of generating news and related debate.
3.3 International exchange support to Nepali artists
After the completion of the first 3 month camp at BAC, the next stage of the project will be to support local artists to gain international exposure by offering expositions, exchanges, residencies or even any support in any academic programs of international arts organizations. Therefore, we would also like to invite any organizations/ curators, institutions which could support our artists by providing short/ long term residency, cultural exchange program, scholarships, or exhibition opportunities in their respective countries. This could also be particularly relevant, on a reciprocal basis for arts organizations that are interested in providing visiting artists/facilitators (detailed above) for our project in Nepal, and for Nepali artists/facilitators to be involved in relevant comparable projects and initiatives in other countries/internationally, including the UK/Europe.