MISSION

wpZimmer is an international, artistic workspace that centers the development of the artistic practice. We offer time and space for in depth and unconditional research for both artists and art workers. By prioritizing development, we aim to focus on the empowerment of the artist and their practice. 

wpZimmer can be considered an anti-disciplinary house, as we allow ourselves to be led by the artistic question; not the final form. The collaborations we initiate and enter into with artists, partners as well as with each other as a team are rooted in reciprocity and transparancy. 

As an artistic workspace we work internationally, however within the last years we have been focusing on our position within our local sphere. By working on both an international and local level, we aim to connect the two as we work on local, national and international networks where durable mobility and knowledge and practice sharing are explored.

What does wpZimmer do?

wpZimmer functions according to three main focus points: the facilitation of residencies, ongoing collaborations with artists in the form of development and productional trajectories and co-hosting presentation contexts. These focus points are tied with our Learnscape principle. As an arts organization, moving through and understanding the different contexts of the society we participate in, we aim to embrace a learning position; we formulate this approach as the Learnscape or: a landscape for learning. 

The Learnscape can be compared to the mycelium threads that connect the trees in the forest. Almost moving invisibly, we try to set up a space that teaches leadership and knowledge and how to develop honest practices and reciprocity. We encourage the wpZimmer team, residents and our network to partake in and shape this landscape, while simultaneously opening up the landscape to a broader community and audience. 

In the development of renewed practices and art perceptions, meeting the audience and exchanging feedback with peers and professionals is crucial. As a workspace we don’t have a traditional, public presentation format, however we value inviting visibility and dialogue for the practices we support. We shape several experimental sharing contexts such as Last Month Tonight, Working Together, as well as the yearly Beyond the Black Box festival which we co-organize along other Antwerp partners. 

Multiple lived in perspectives are necessary to capture the reality we are moving in, in order to understand the impact of intersectionality and take responsibility. Because we find it important to work on rebalancing power structures, we choose to diverge from these traditional structures that tend to run within arts organizations. Instead, we opt to be a space where both formal and informal relationships of exchange, care, responsibility and artistic development are supported; this by opting for a multi-voiced approach. The leadership of wpZimmer is currently shaped by Helga Baert and Gosie Vervloessem, while the curation and evolution of the organization and its activities is open to all of wpZimmer’s staff members, artists and guest curators. 

Are you looking for a residency?

When it comes to residencies, we work with an Open Call. The next Open Call will be communicated in January 2023.

A residency at wpZimmer means:

• minimum 2 weeks to 1 month of residency
• 24 hours on 24 use of the studio or atelier and technical material
• A place to sleep, lunch and cook
• Residency fee between 1000 and 2000 €.
• wpZimmer team is available for artistic feedback, business advice, production support, technical assistance, set construction, etc.
• Communication about your artistic work and residency (video interview, texts, photos, etc.).
• Possibility to close a residency period with an informal showcase
• Invitation to participate in the Learnscape via ‘Last Month Tonight’.
  We take into account practical and logistical needs and inhibitions for mobility. We can offer support in finding local medical support (e.g. dialysis, physiotherapy, etc), we have facilities for artists with children, we support artists in applying for visas or other documents, …

For questions not related to applying for residency, you can still write, email or call us.

Some tips:
* Provide information about your background and work;
* Describe the project you would like to talk about (concept, team, partners);
* Make clear what you expect or need (from us) (in this case, no residency);
* Any form of engagement is preceded by a thorough introduction (interview, performance, video, …)
Contact: helga@wpzimmer.be

WEB

WEB is an answer to the need for better joint efforts and partnership within the performing arts, particularly in terms of exchange, research, production and presentation.

WEB is an international network which brings together workspaces, arts centres and festivals in order to reinforce each other across the national borders. The aim is to give integral support to two artists per year. The focus is on upcoming artists on the verge of an international breakthrough.

WEB provides the artist full support from “A to Z”. The partners guarantee space for research and creation through a series of residencies. They offer financial, logistical, and technical support. They give administrative back-up and artistic feedback during the creation process. Each collaboration culminates in a series of presentations, inside and outside of the network.

WEB is an initiative of:             Beursschouwburg – Brussels (B)

                                                     wpZimmer – Antwerp (B)

                                                     Frascati – Amsterdam (NL)

                                                     Uzès Danse – Uzès (F)

                                                     Le Vivat – Armentières (F)

                                                     Gessnerallee (CH)

                                                     Fierce Festival – Birmingham (UK)

                                                     Schwankhalle – Bremen (D)

                                                     Göteborgs Dans & Teaterfestival – Göteborg (SE)

WEB bets on the differences and the complementarity between the partners in terms of available work space, financial resources, presentation contexts, administrative know-how, technical competences and dramaturgical experience.

WEB sometimes opens up to temporary alliances with an extra ‘libero’ partner. Preference is given to partners that are not too obvious, and for whom the collaboration with WEB can generate a big surplus value.

Productions made with the support of the network receive the label WEB followed by two numbers.

WEB 2.6. refers to the second project supported by six WEB-partners.