1. Application Overview

People traveling out of Edo – or Tokyo, as it is known today – would first cross the Edogawa River and find themselves in Matsudo. The city has also served as an important transit point for people heading to Edo/Tokyo from places outside the city, for example Narita Airport. Over the centuries, it seems that this unique geographical trait fostered a warm-hearted and open-minded spirit in Matsudo, a spirit that embraces the comings and goings of others. It is in such an environment that PARADISE AIR has held its LONGSTAY Program – now in its sixth year – which annually invites artists from overseas to stay for a three-month residency.

To bolster the residency program’s appeal and its capacity to accommodate yet more radical and ambitious practices, this year we are opening our doors to Japanese and overseas applicants alike – and not only to artists, but to curators, researchers and others.

The final product need not have a tangible form. Applicants are requested to contemplate the set theme and submit a plan that engages with the time and space of Matsudo’s real-life setting, making the most of the resources offered by the city. We look forward to welcoming in Matsudo multiple individuals (or groups) with broad knowledge and interests, from different corners of the world.

 

More information about activities of PARADISE AIR
https://www.paradiseair.info/activity
More information about Matsudo City 
http://www.city.matsudo.chiba.jp/InternationalPortal

 

 

2. Program Theme

THINKING REEDS

In Matsudo, you will come across reeds swaying in the wind on the shoals and banks of the Edogawa and Sakagawa rivers. The 17th-century mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal, who died at the young age of 39, compared human beings to the humble reed, in his judgment the weakest in nature. “Man is but a reed,” Pascal powerfully asserts, “… but he is a thinking reed.” One can observe in these words his tremendous faith in the faculty of thought and in humankind, the beings endowed with such a faculty. Looking back, however, over the grim course of history since Pascal’s times, we are reminded of enlightenment philosophy’s negative repercussions. These words of Pascal are always steeped in danger; nevertheless, we choose to think, and to take on what that may entail.

It is not compulsory for residents on PARADISE AIR’s LONGSTAY Program to produce artworks or hold exhibitions during their stay. We only ask that they share their unconstrained way of thinking with the people living their everyday lives in Matsudo. Those who explore and express their thinking through physical media, such as painting and sculpture, are of course equally welcome.

Arata Hasegawa (Guest curator)

 

 

3. Schedule

Application Period : Wednesday, March 14th – Sunday, April 22nd →29th  2018

Annoucement of the result (officially): by the end of July. 2018
Term of Residence : Saturday, September 1st – Wednesday, November 28th 2018 (Approx. 3 months)
Program Outline: TBD

• Sep. 1 (Sat)      Arrival in Japan
• Sep. 4 (Tue)     Meeting to discuss artists’ plan
• Sep. 8  (Sat)  Self-Introduction Artist Talk for locals
• Sep. 15 (Sat) – 16 (Sun) Open Studio / Artist Talk
• Early October   Studio Visit by the guest curator
• Nov. 17 (Sat). 18 (Sun)   Report Presentation about the stay
• Nov. 28 (Wed)      Departure from Japan 
  *There will be a meeting, fortnightly.

4. Number to be admitted

Multiple regardless of nationality
* art groups or units are welcome to apply

5. Applicant Conditions

Applicants must meet the following conditions:

• Enjoy engaging in dialogues with the town
• Currently live and work as an artist (including not only artist’s creative activity and research but also lectures, symposiums and researches given by concerned ones)
• Be willing and able to engage in genuine cultural exchange with regional artists and local residents during the term of residency
• Have a desire to connect with local residents and conduct regular fieldwork and/or interviews
• Be in good physical and mental health
• Have flexibility regarding program scheduling, rules, and administration.
• Be able to conduct everyday life in Japanese and/or English
• Applicants may plan to work collaboratively with an artist in the Matsudo region if they wish

6. Support

PARADISE AIR supports the artists/art groups finacially and technically as follows –

• Round trip transportation from the artist’s home to Matsudo
• Accommodation at the PARADISE AIR residency (https://www.paradiseair.info/about#equipment )
• Up to ¥200,000 for production costs, to be decided via project proposal
• Daily stipend of ¥3,000/day * 90days = ¥270,000
• Costs associated with local talks, performances, exhibitions etc.
• Costs of transporting works of art created during the program
• Local support for activities and the production of works
• Costs associated with advertisement and promotions

PLEASE NOTE:

• We kindly ask that applicants plan to participate in the program with their own health insurance. PARADISE AIR is not able to serve as an insurer or guarantor.
• While we generally accommodate artists who come to Matsudo alone, we welcome applications from those who wish to bring along their spouse and/or children. Please indicate clearly in the application if you wish to do so.
• During the program we ask artists to arrange their own meals using their daily stipend. There are many local restaurants nearby and a kitchenette is also available for use in the residence.

7. Stipulations

• Copyright and ownership of any work created during the program will remain that of the artist.
• PARADISE AIR retains the right to photograph and film all events, performances, workshops, and exhibitions conducted by the artist during the duration of the program.
• We request full cooperation during all media coverage, as well as for coverage made by our staff and sponsors.

8. Application Details

There are three steps in application process.

STEP 1
Please fill in the following form to enroll for the selection process. (in English or Japanese)
URL＝ https://goo.gl/forms/long2018

* An E-mail will be automatically sent to you from google  to confirm your application. Please make sure to check it.

STEP 2
Please download  a folder below, fill in it, then add each materials. (in English or Japanese)
URL＝https://old.paradiseair.info/data/LONG2018.zip

 

1. Name the folder “sent date (YYYYMMDD)_yourname” (e.g.20180320_PARADISE-AIR)
2. Storage below Application Materials into folders A~C (data limit: 10MB for total)
3. Upload folder data at file share services such as Dropbox, WeTransfer, GoogleDrive etc.

STEP 3
Please submit a link(STEP 2) to the below email address.
Please note that direct attachments to an email will not be accepted.

Email Address : long@paradiseair.info
Title: PAIR2018_your artist name
Application deadline: Sunday, April 29th 2018 at 24:00 (UTC+9)

*When you complete STEP 3, you won’t immediately receive registration completion e-mail.
*For whom registered yourself at STEP 1, we (long@paradiseair.info) email you after 29th April when the form (STEP 3) is incomplete.
*After the deadline, we will send a confirmation mail to all applicants registered at STEP 3 until May 13th. If you do not receive it, please contact us.

 

[Application Materials] into each folders A to C

A: Application Form
Please complete the Form in full. It can be downloaded via the following link.
URL＝https://old.paradiseair.info/data/LONG2018.zip

B: Portfolio

• Submitted your portfolio (within 3 works) will be viewed in the size of A4 (210×297 mm).
• For video and/or music works, please upload the data at Youtube, Vimeo, Soundcloud and so on, then note the URL at your portfolio and email of STEP 3.
• For video works, you can submit 2 at maximum.
• When you upload private video on the internet, please make sure to set the password as PARADISE.
  *You cannot submit the original data via e-mail.

C: Passport
A copy of your passport or identification card*
*Identification page of passport, or other official identification document with your name and a photo
*For artist group, we require copies of all the members

9. Selection / Notification

• A committee of local leaders and outside judges will determine the best applicant from the submitted materials.
• For those who pass the first screening, we will make a contact individually by the end of May in early June.
• For second screening, we will also ask you to submit a video letter.    *The deadline of a video letter is in one week after the announcement of the result of the first screening.
• Finalists will be individually notified by mid June.
• The chosen artist(s) will be individually notified by the end of June.
• Selection results will be made public on our website around the first week of July.

10. Contact

Feel free to contact us using the below details if you would like to make an enquiry. Please note that we are unable to respond to any enquiries regarding the selection process.
/First, please refer to the below link if you have a question.
FAQ

/Also, please keep track of PARADISE  AIR activities on Instagram with hashtag #p_air.

 

PARADISE AIR
Email：long@paradiseair.info
Website: https://www.paradiseair.info
Address: Postal code 271-0091 #506, Hamatomo bld., 15-4 Honcho, Matsudo City, Chiba, JAPAN
Affiliates: Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Sciene & Technology,Matsudo City Hall
Organizing body: PAIR
Special support: Hamatomo Kanko Co., Ltd.

 

Best of luck!