Archival Bootcamp Residency

Archival Bootcamp is a weekly nomadic artistic residency focused on archival and memory projects. It gathers artists, curators and creative professionals from around the world. Combining theory, practice and spare time, we anchor on the power of archives through artistic practice, critical memory and creative writing.

Situated in critical pedagogies, we propose learning communities to produce collective knowledge from our singularities: geopolitical anchorages, ways of doing and transdisciplinary knowledge.

The residency offers:

• Creative freedom and practical strategies for engaging with archives, using artistic methods and alternative approaches to image-making, memory, and writing.
• The opportunity to join an international network of artists and creatives.
• Access to a curated selection of contemporary references, artists, and theories focused on archives, critical memory, and artistic practice.

The residency is conducted in English, but our team also speaks Spanish and Català

How it works?

The residency offers a dynamic blend of individual and collective work, incorporating both theoretical and practical approaches.

Morning Sessions:
Each morning will focus on thematic topics (archives, origins, memory, affects, and movement), with activities including:

• Writing routines
• Texts exploring memory, art, and archives
• Viewing and discussing works by other artists and archival projects
• Exercises centered on the creative process
• Practical activities to activate our archives

Afternoon Sessions:
In the afternoons, we shift to working on our personal projects, drawing inspiration from diverse methods and perspectives.

Artists, researchers, activists, writers, filmmakers, photographers, curators, archivists, librarians who have an artistic project with archival material, at any stage of production. By archive we mean any collection of images, writings, films, sounds or objects that form an affective and meaningful corpus, eager to be activated and explored. Between ten and fifteen artists are selected, depending on the venue.

*The Archival Bootcamp Community refers to participants in our annual online mentorship circles. [Get more info]

What’s included 

• 5 nights / 6 days accommodation in shared rooms
• All-vegetarian meals made with locally sourced ingredients
•  Workshops and activities
• Mentoring and feedback on projects
• Masia with direct river access
• Shared workspace throughout the residency
• Access to communal areas
• Nomadic Library – a specialized library focused on archival practices

Location

In line with its historic and archival character, our residency will take place at La Toba mill, restored as part of a heritage preservation effort using materials from the surrounding environment and operating since 2005 as a retreat center offering transformative experiences immersed in nature.

[Video] [Location] [Inside Tour]