Nepal Communitere, in collaboration with ZERO1, U.S. Embassy Kathmandu, and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, is pleased to announce the open call for participants in American Arts Incubator — Nepal.

American Arts Incubator (AAI) is a creative exchange program that utilizes community-driven digital and new media art projects to instigate dialogue, build communities, bolster local economies, and further social innovation. Each incubator addresses a relevant social or environmental challenge such as economic equity, youth empowerment, gender equality, and environmental sustainability.

AAI Nepal consists of a series of art and technology workshops taught by visiting American artist Jennifer Berry focused on addressing women’s empowerment, the development of collaborative team project prototypes, and an open house to share participant creations with the public. Participation in the incubator is free of charge. Participant teams will receive small grant funding to develop their collaborative project prototypes. The program will be held at Nepal Communitere from April 4-27, 2019.

Jennifer Berry is an artist and educator who specializes in collaboration with and design for wildlife and nature. Berry holds several degrees and certificates in science, art, and design, and studied in a place where encounters with animals such as moose and coyotes were an everyday occurrence on her way to class. Her art is to inspire her audience to see the natural world from a perspective of wonder.

We are looking for participants with:

• An interest in technology, new media, and/or digital art; experience in the arts is a plus
• An interest in exploring women’s empowerment
• A desire to learn from new perspectives and new tools
• A willingness to work and create in a collaborative environment
• Age 18+ (participants under 18 can apply but must be partnered with adults on projects)
• Youth, women, and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply

Innovation for Opportunity: Exploring Empowerment for Women in Nepal

This workshop will teach the basics of digital fabrication and 3D printing to create innovative, participatory projects that engage the public around the theme of opportunity for women. Participants will be introduced to a simple digital fabrication workflow that will allow them to rapidly transfer their innovative ideas into prototype form for the purpose of sharing those ideas with the public. Participants will gain practical, hands-on and digital skills while building a community around the theme of opportunity and possibilities for women in Nepal. 

• Workshops: April 6, 7, 11 & 12, 2019
• Project development: April 15 – 22, 2019
  • After the workshops, participants will be divided into teams and provided small grants to develop project prototypes. Jennifer Berry will lead teams through the process of developing a proposal, prototyping, and preparing to share their work with the public.
• Open house and panel review: April 25 – 27, 2019
  • Teams will share their prototypes with the public in an open house, and present their creations to a panel who will provide feedback to support their future sustainability. The open house will be held at Nepal Communitere.

To apply, please fill in the application form

Submissions will be accepted until February 27, 2019.