INTERNATIONAL

ANIMATION DOCUMENTARY FILM RESIDENCY

VERNATUN



SEE YOU NEXT SEASON !

What is awaiting you?

• A break out from the creative quiet zone :)
• Experience of working with different media, a combination of traditional and experimental techniques of addressing video, animation and sound.
• Access to professional shooting, audio and post-production equipment
• Individual time with mentors to deepen practical skills or elaborate on a personal project
• Workshops and lectures by guest curators
• Experience working on an artistic project in a collaborative approach
• Total immersion in artistic work
• The most fertile environment for finding like-minded people and dreaming up kickass collaborations

Curators

Eliza Olkinitskaya

Dreamer, artist and animation director

Member and co-editor of Animators Against War.

Andrey Terentyev

Musician, sound designer

Inventor of musical instruments from trash and treasures

Co-organizer of Animaton

Location

Tumanyan (Armenian: Թումանյան) is a beautiful small town in the north of Armenia, in the Lori region, 149 km from Yerevan and 131 km from Tbilisi.

The bridge over the Debed River connects the highway and the town of Tumanyan. On the right side of the bridge is the entrance to the town and a monument to the story writer Hovhannes Tumanyan, who was born in the neighboring village of Dzegh and after whom the village of Dzagizdor was renamed in 1951. Many locals and residents of neighboring towns still call Tumanyan Dzagizdor, and if you ask someone to hitchhike to Tumanyan, they will ask: “Do you want to go to the first or the second?” If you look at a map, it seems there are two Tumanyans - that is how Mount Avanakar divides the two city parts. The first one is one behind the monument; the second is upstream of the Debed River, behind the so-called “yellow” mountain, where the ruins of factories can be seen.

Across from Tumanyan, on the left bank of the Debed River, the medieval Armenian monastery of Kobayr (Armenian: Քոբայր) rises on the banks of the basalt Lori Mountains. The monastery was built on the edge of a deep gorge in 1171 by the Kurikid princes, the younger branch of the Armenian royal house of Bagratuni. Kobayr was one of the famous spiritual, cultural and literary centers of Northern Armenia during the Middle Ages. The ruins of the 12th century building have preserved frescoes originating from the traditions of Armenian, Byzantine and Georgian painting.

When

The residency will be held during the summer of 2024 in three three-week sessions:

15/06 - 06/07

13/07 - 03/08

10/08 - 31/08

You may participate in one period of the residency, or you may participate in all three of them, they will be varied !

Vernatun

Vernatun (from Armenian veranda) was the name of the literary community founded by Hovhannes Tumyanan, an all-Armenian writer, whose name is given to the town of our residency. The invitation to join Vernatun Animadoc Residency is, first of all, an invitation to become a part of the community of artists of Abastan, an invitation to connect and co-create.

About Abastan

Abastan is an independent creative community of people of different professions and nationalities,

united by their love for art, adventure and making.

The project was launched in Tumanyan in the spring of 2022, on the territory of a former textile factory closed after the collapse of the USSR. An open call for volunteers in creative fields ready to create a community together and build an art residence was announced, which the participants carry on with. At the moment Abastan is a registered public organization whose goal is to establish a space and creative environment for the implementation of cultural projects.

Our common goal is to create a space where people from all over the world can learn from each other, bring artistic projects to life, reimagine identity via cross-cultural communication, discover the complex layers of the past, overcome the challenges of the present, and envision a better future. “Abastan” in Armenian means “refuge,” and our Abastan, located in a hospitable lowland at the foot of the mountains in northern Armenia, is intended to be a safe haven where people experiencing challenging moments in their personal and professional lives can seek new avenues through learning and creative cooperation.

What is included in participation fee :

• accommodation
• meals (lunches and dinners)
• transportation from Yerevan or Tbilisi
• materials and access to equipment
• common activities
• master classes, lectures, screenings with guest curators

Low-cost option:

• accommodation ( of your choice) in a room for several people or in a tent in the garden
• Access to shared shower, toilet and kitchen facilities
• USD 200 (or less)

Comfort option:

• accommodation in a private room (possibly with private shower and toilet)
• access to shared kitchen
• 340 USD (or less)

AND !

It is important to us that finances are not a constraint if you dream of attending the residency,

one or two (almost) free places will be available at each run:

• accommodation (depending on availability) in a room for several people or in a tent in the garden
• access to shared shower, toilet and kitchen facilities
• you only need to pay for meals and transfers
• 90 USD

IMPORTANT: Exact housing information will be announced at the same time as the results of the opencall. We guarantee that you will not have to pay more than the amounts mentioned above according to the accommodation option you select. Perhaps you might even pay less :)

ALSO IMPORTANT:

* We are very aware that the majority of artists have limitations in terms of budget. Vernatun Animadoc Residency is a non-profit venture and the cost of participation is already calculated to make it as affordable as possible.

Therefore, we kindly ask you not to count the free participation proposal as a way to save costs. This makes it extremely difficult for us to process requests and organize the residency run accordingly. Please leave this opportunity to those for whom this is truly the only affordable way to attend the residency.

** If all of a sudden, you are an artist (or a non-artist) who is not limited in funds, you are welcome to gift the free participation to someone else ! Gifting the free option to join the residency means opening up another unpaid place in addition to the one already provided by the organizers

How to apply :

• fill out the submission form
• if you are a practicing artist : send one work of your choice and tell us why you felt like sharing this particular work with us;
• if you are only getting connected to the cosmos : send any photo or video from your phone and tell us about it :)
• do a creative assignment (common for all!) : a short story about a space - of any kind - geographical, local or, for example, mental, in any accessible and interesting to you form (audio, video, comic, animation, etc.)

ENTRIES NOW CLOSED

info for the next season announced in January 2025

Do not hesitate to contact us with any questions

by mail: vernatun.animation@gmail.com

or on instagram: @vernatun_residency

We are eager to see your entries and look forward to all !

Andrey, Eliza and the Abastan team