TROPIC 08°N: Arts & Ecology Research Residency
CAPURGANA · Chocó, Colombia
creative practice in dialogue with land, ecologies & planetary change.
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At the meeting point of South and Central America, dense rainforests merge with coastal mangroves and the Caribbean Sea. This transitional region — shaped by complex ecologies, cultural histories, and ongoing global pressures — holds both immense biodiversity and a layered human presence.
Amidst these vibrant landscapes, our residency offers space for reflective creative practice connected to the surrounding ecologies and contemporary challenges of the region. As participants spend time immersed in these living environments, they are invited to reflect on broader questions of coexistence, interdependence, and how global environmental shifts are entangled with local realities.
Rather than proposing solutions, the residency offers time and space to listen, observe, and respond through artistic practice — situated within the living complexity of the territory.
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Our site-responsive residencies offer a carefully balanced structure combining guided experiences and self-directed time. Participants are invited to engage with place through field visits, reflective practice, and scheduled sessions with long-term local collaborators who share perspectives and practices connected to the land.
Each program offers time for artistic inquiry within distinct ecological and cultural contexts, supporting reflective processes that consider our relationships with land, ecologies, and one another. Rather than offering prescriptive outcomes, our approach emphasizes time, listening, and situated inquiry—allowing artists to explore how their work may respond to the complexities of each environment.
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Nestled between the Caribbean coastline and the tropical rainforest of the Chocó region, Tropic 08°N offers artists a place-based residency within one of the world’s most biodiverse and ecologically complex regions. Accessible only by air or sea, the area is sustained by subsistence farming, fishing, and small-scale tourism, with communities long connected to these coastal and rainforest ecosystems.
La Wayaka Current has been working within this territory for nearly a decade, forming long-term relationships that allow us to host artists in respectful proximity to both rainforest and ocean environments, in connection with nearby villages and our long-term team of local collaborators. This program provides space for reflective artistic practice grounded in time spent within the region’s distinct ecologies, landscapes, and living contexts.
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Applications are currently open to join during the following time periods:
2026
23 October - 13 November 2026
DEADLINES:
We run a series of rolling deadlines in the period upcoming to our programs. Decisions on applications take between 5-7 days after the deadlines.
30.06.2026
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Simple, shared accommodation in a rural setting connected to local communities and natural surroundings. Rooms are shared (2–3 people), with communal bathroom, shower, and kitchen facilities. Private rooms may be available upon request, depending on availability.
Participants also have access to a shared kitchen, fridge, freezer, outdoor dining area, fire pit, and simple furnishings to support everyday living during the residency.
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Our residency offers simple outdoor workspaces that allow participants to develop their practice in close relation to the surrounding landscape. Communal working areas include open-air tables, basic tools, and electricity (with occasional outages — solar chargers are recommended). Artists are responsible for bringing any specific materials or equipment required for their work.
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Participants have full access to shared kitchen facilities for self-catering throughout the residency. We provide basic cooking equipment (pots, pans, utensils), kitchen staples (salt, cooking oil, instant coffee, tea), safe drinking water, and essential hygiene items. Participants are responsible for their own meals, with regular transport provided for grocery shopping during the program.
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A dedicated on-site coordinator is available during set hours, with emergency contact available outside these times. Before arrival, participants also receive personalized online support and guidance via email to assist with travel planning, packing, and preparation.
Our residency team includes local collaborators, who bring place-based knowledge to the program and are fully compensated for their contributions. The team also works with local drivers to support logistics and contextual sessions during field visits. Throughout the residency, participants receive ongoing practical and creative guidance from our core team and collaborators.
RESIDENCY Inclusions:
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Our program offers a carefully balanced structure combining independent practice with scheduled group field visits to ecological and cultural sites, sessions with local collaborators who share place-based knowledge and perspectives, and peer sharing within the group. Activities are designed to foster reflection, deepen understanding of the territory, and support individual creative inquiry.
The program typically balances guided and self-directed time, with approximately 50% of the schedule dedicated to programmed group activities, and the remaining time reserved for independent research and creative work. Each edition is shaped by the season, location, and the unique dynamics of the group.
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We organize group visits to selected ecological and cultural sites to support participants in developing a deeper understanding of place. These visits offer time for observation, reflection, and being present within the surrounding landscape, contributing to each participant’s personal process and creative inquiry.
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Pre-scheduled sessions with local collaborators who share perspectives, knowledge, and practices connected to place, creating space for shared dialogue, reflection, and contextual insight within the residency process. These collaborators form part of our core residency team and are fully compensated for their contributions.
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Structured yet open-format sessions (typically scheduled 3–4 times during the residency) offer participants the opportunity to share works-in-progress and engage in informal group conversations, creating space for mutual reflection and exchange within the group.
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We provide personalized guidance prior to arrival, including travel planning advice, packing recommendations, and assistance with residency preparation via email.
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Participants live and work in small, international groups, typically ranging from 3 to 14 participants depending on season and location. In some periods, we also offer space for individual artists and researchers who prefer to work independently. All participants remain connected to our growing alumni network of over 400 artists and practitioners, creating opportunities for ongoing exchange, reflection, and shared dialogue beyond the residency.
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National park entry fees and applicable contributions to local
communities are included for our programmed activities. -
Participants receive ongoing support through conversations with our on-site team and residency directors (in person or online), offering space for dialogue, reflection, and feedback within the context of the residency. These exchanges draw on artistic, ecological, and contextual experience, providing participants with perspectives and guidance as they navigate their independent process.
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Local transport is provided for field visits as part of our programme.
ZERO Application FeeS
This residency operates through a participation fee, which covers the real costs of running our programme in a remote desert environment and support our collaborations, accommodation, shared resources, and on-the-ground coordination.
As an independent, artist-led non-profit, we do not receive regular institutional funding and do not accept support from extractive industries.
To keep the programme accessible, we use a sliding-scale model and offer partial or full financial support each season, as well as guidance for external funding.
We also provide reduced rates and fully funded places for Latin American and BIPOC artists.
If cost is a barrier, we encourage applicants to contact us. Financial aid can be requested through the application form or by email.
You can find the full fee brackets and all available financial aid options by clicking the button below.
PROGRAM Fees + Financial Aid:
how to apply
La Wayaka Current welcomes artists, researchers, and interdisciplinary practitioners from diverse backgrounds and stages of practice, who are open to engaging respectfully with place, ecology, and culture through creative inquiry.
We invite participants who approach these contexts with sensitivity, openness, and a willingness to reflect on the relationships between their work and the territories they enter.
Applications are submitted through our online form, where you’ll be asked to share your personal details, preferred dates and location, and a short statement of intent. You'll also respond to several scenario-based questions that help us better understand your approach.
If applying for financial aid, please indicate this directly within the form. For joint or collaborative applications, one person may submit on behalf of the group.
FEATURED PROJECTS FROM THE ARCHIVE
Artist Publication, Anna Toronnen, Sweden
ALUMNI | PAST RESIDENTS
maija fox, UK
Camilla reyman, Denmark
