Blog
Alessio - May 12, 2010 - 11:26
Triangle Arts Trust Knowledge and Skills Sharing Residency Programme
March/April 2010
Kate Tarratt-Cross from Greatmore Studios, South Africa hosted Kwaku Kiss (Castro) from SaNsA, Ghana
In March 2010 Castro from SaNsA in Ghana (www.sansaghana.org) took up residency at Greatmore Studios (www.greatmoreart.org) in Cape Town, South Africa, hosted by Director Kate Tarratt-Cross as part of the continuing Knowledge and Skills Sharing programme organised by Triangle Arts Trust.
Castro began his residency with an introduction over lunch to the staff at Greatmore followed by a tour of Greatmore Studios’ space and an introduction to all of the artists. The tour and the introduction to the resident artists gave Castro an overview of Greatmore and the contacts he could easily go to for any help or with any questions.
A draft schedule was discussed between Castro and Kate for his stay which gave the other members of staff a good explanation of the Knowledge and Skills Sharing programme, and served as a reminder of the activities that Castro would engage in to get the most out of the exchange opportunity.
During the residency Castro spent time with each member of staff and in the process got involved with the operations of Greatmore including general administration, finance, programming, and website management.
As Kate describes:
Castro virtually became part of the furniture of Greatmore and spent quality time with a number of people, learning a lot and also sharing skills and knowledge in the process.
Castro’s stay also coincided with a residency programme at Greatmore that involved artists from different countries all over the world. He got directly involved with the running of that residency learning a lot in the process that he will be able to take back and apply at SaNsA.
As Kate explains:
The experience gave Castro an insight into the structure of Greatmore Studios which will help him to manage a structure that would work for SaNsA when he returns.
Other activities that Castro became involved with included accompanying one of the visiting residency artists to an arts centre to discuss various outreach programmes with the Head of the Centre and getting directly involved with a video art mentoring programme at Greatmore Studios that commenced during his stay. All of these activities gave Castro hands-on experience that proved both challenging and exciting.
As Kate concludes:
Castro was a real asset to us. He was so enthusiastic and got straight into it as soon as he arrived. He was an absolute help in every way and made a real contribution to the studios.
