- ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE
OPEN CALL
Conversing Grounds / Artists-in-Residence

Session I
- Hosted at : A.M Studio / Atelier I & Atelier II, Kolkata, India
- Conceived and Curated by : Ayan Mukherjee
- Supported by : P.B Foundation
- Residency Dates : November 3–22, 2025
- Application Deadline : September 30, 2025 | 6.00 PM IST
Please submit the following via the Google Form:
- Short Bio (max 200 words)
- Artist Statement (max 300 words)
- Note of Intent – Why this residency? What questions or energies do you bring? (max 400 words)
- Portfolio (PDF with web/media links encouraged)
- Contact Info (Phone & Email)
👉 Apply Here
🗓️ Deadline: September 30, 2025
📧 Email for queries: amartstudio2016@gmail.com
📞 Contact: +91 9007726308
🌀 Open Call
Conversing Grounds is envisioned as a living laboratory of dialogue, intuition, and resonance—a space where creative practitioners gather not to conclude, but to converge, begin again, together.
Hosted at A.M Studio / Atelier I & Atelier II in Kolkata, this residency unfolds in an independent, artist-run studio space rooted in experimentation, collaboration, interdisciplinary exchange, and community-engaged practice.
Conceived and designed by interdisciplinary artist and curator Ayan Mukherjee, this 20-day immersive residency invites creative practitioners into a gentle rupture from urgency—a terrain where thought, unmaking, and shared authorship become vital processes. Rather than focusing solely on outcomes, the residency offers participants the gift of time: time to pause, dwell, listen, unlearn, and reconnect with the deeper rhythms of their creative practice.
Through shared meals, peer studio visits, daily engagement, and reflective sessions with fellow artists and the curator, participants enter a slow rhythm of exchange. The Open Studio Day on Day 19 is not a showcase, but an invitation—a porous, evolving moment of process and dialogue.
There are no expectations of artwork donation or final product delivery.
What is offered instead is a discursive space—an environment for inquiry, experimentation, and the investigation of artistic practices, supported emotionally and intellectually.
Artists are invited to arrive with questions, fragments, intuitions, or half-formed visions—and to leave with renewed resonances, reflections, and relationships.
📜 Curator’s Note
From Ayan Mukherjee
“I have always believed that the act of making art is inseparable from the act of being in relation—to time, to memory, to others, and to the questions that won’t leave us alone.
Conversing Grounds is born from this belief. It is not a platform for performance, but for presence.
This residency reflects my desire to pause with others—to witness what unfolds when creative practitioners are given space to breathe without pressure, to listen without agenda, and to create without certainty.
It extends my curatorial and interdisciplinary practice outward—inviting others into a shared space of inquiry and inward investigation through slowness, vulnerability, and layered storytelling.
If your practice holds questions, if you’re drawn to slow conversation, and if you’re ready to begin again—not alone, but together—I hope Conversing Grounds speaks to you.”
🎯 Selection Criteria
We are looking for creative practitioners who demonstrate:
- Clarity of Intention
A clearly expressed motivation to participate, rooted in curiosity, care, and reflection. - Artistic Sensibility & Inquiry
A body of work that engages meaningfully with form, theme, or medium—across any discipline or stage of career. - Openness to Collaboration & Dialogue
A generous, reflective approach to peer exchange and co-shaping narratives. - Interdisciplinary Curiosity
A desire to explore across visual, sonic, performative, textual, or conceptual boundaries. - Process-Oriented Practice
Comfort with experimentation, vulnerability, and the unresolved aspects of making. - Responsiveness to Context
A willingness to work relationally and rhythmically—sharing space and time with others.
We particularly welcome artists who view their work as a form of communication, inquiry, and listening—those invested in shaping meaningful, layered narratives together.
💰 Residency Cost
As a self-funded, artist-run initiative, Conversing Grounds is designed to be accessible while ensuring a full, supported experience.
Description | Cost (INR) |
---|---|
Residency Donation | ₹10,000 |
Accommodation, Meals, Transport (20 days) | ₹20,000 |
Total | ₹30,000 |
Includes:
– Residency participation
– Fully furnished twin sharing accommodation
– Daily lunch and dinner
– Daily studio transport
– Two curated group outings
– Participation in Open Studio & Curatorial Exposition
✈️ Travel to/from Kolkata is not included.
Airport pick-up/drop can be arranged for international participants with prior notice.
🖼️ Optional: Artwork Sales & Exposure
Participants may opt in to explore sales opportunities post-residency via A.M Studio’s extended network of collectors and institutions.
• Select artworks (by consent) may be held on consignment for 1 month
• Unsold works will be returned
• Only applies to works suited for sale
🧑🎨 Who Can Apply
We invite applications from:
- Emerging and mid-career artists
- Interdisciplinary practitioners (visual, performance, sound, writing, media and more)
- Artist duos or collectives (up to 2 collaborators)
📌 Only 4 participants will be selected to ensure spaciousness, focus, and meaningful collective rhythm.
📌 A total of 8 participants will be selected to ensure spaciousness, focus, and meaningful collective rhythm.
📆 Residency Duration
👉 20 days
🗓️ November 3rd – 22nd, 2025
📍 Kolkata, India
✨ Core Activities
• Daily studio practice sessions
• Peer studio visits and group interactions
• Presentations and reflective discussions with the curator
• A culminating collaborative curatorial project
• Open Studio Day (Day 19) with public artist and curator walkthroughs
🛠️ Key Features
• No obligation for artwork donation
• Fully furnished twin sharing accommodation provided
• Daily lunch and dinner included
• Daily car pick-up/drop between studio and living space
• Two curated group outings for local cultural immersion