Tropical Lab International Art Camp

2025 Recipient: Liss Finney, NAS BFA 2023, current MFA

A two-week international art camp in Singapore for a current National Art School MFA student

Application deadline Sunday November 24 2024 

Residency dates Thursday 17 July – Friday 1 August 2025

Notification of outcome Thursday 5 December 2024

Residency 

The nineteenth edition of the renowned TROPICAL LAB, an international art camp for art academies and institutes, will take place from 17 July to 1 August 2025 at LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore.

TROPICAL LAB is an intensive and highly engaging fourteen-day event, bringing together more than 20 student-artists from various art colleges and institutions around the world. TROPICAL LAB is a real and imaginative space for student artists to research, experiment and collaborate to create contemporary artworks, regardless of medium, method and approach.

The event will include workshops, talks and seminars guided by established international and Singaporean artists culminating in an exhibition curated by LASALLE’s curatorial division, Institute of Contemporary Art Singapore at LASALLE.

The recipient of this Prize will receive:

• $1000 towards airfares & transfers
• Coverage of program registration fees
• LASALLE will cover accommodation and local travel costs in Singapore. All participants will reside at a hotel arranged by the College on a twin sharing basis.
• LASALLE will provide studio space, workshops, technical assistance as well as curatorial expertise.

Eligibility

• You must be a full time MFA1 student at the time of application, and a full time MFA2 student at the time of the residency.
• Applicant must be responsible for researching the relevant visa requirements for Singapore and preparation of these arrangements in advance.
• Participants are required to be in full attendance during this two-week period. This will include missing the first 2 weeks of S2 2025, which will be discussed with staff in advance.

Selection Criteria

The Residency will be awarded to an applicant who:

• Has displayed a high level of achievement and dedication to their practice throughout their MFA.
• Demonstrates clarity of purpose and a compelling rationale for their proposed residency.
• In the opinion of the judges, would benefit artistically from the experience at this stage of their studies.

Applications

• To be considered for selection, applicants must submit all parts of the online application form, together with required application materials, by the deadline.
• Eligible applications will be reviewed by a selection panel comprising suitable representatives of the National Art School.

Application Requirements

• A summary CV (of not more than two pages) in PDF format.
• Your most recent revised MFA Proposal (PDF format).
• A maximum of 10 images, presented in PDF format, with only one image per page. Each page should include the name of artist, title, date, medium, and dimensions. For moving image-based artists only, a high-quality video of up to two minutes presented as a single-track show reel. The panel reserves the right to not assess applications that do not include specified supporting material correctly formatted as outlined above.
• A 300 word travel proposal (PDF format): Please comment on your interest to participate in TROPICAL LAB and the ways in which you might benefit  from the program, making reference to the 2025 theme: ‘Service’ (see Application Guidelines)

Referee

• All applicants are required to state the name, phone number and email address of one referee.

Conditions of Entry

• The successful applicant must abide by all the regulations of the award.
• The successful applicant is responsible for any additional costs associated with the residency.
• The selectors’ decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.
• The successful applicant must strictly agree to abide by the conditions of LASALLE.
• The selectors reserve the right to withhold the award if in their opinion the standard of applications is insufficient to warrant awarding.
• The selected applicant will be required to maintain communication with the Residency Coordinator during the residency.

Acquittal of Residency

Post-residency, the selected applicant will be required to:

• Take part in a lecture or panel discussion about the residency to students and alumni, to a PowerPoint presentation.
• Provide high-resolution photographs and a quote of approximately 100 words that can be used by NAS for promotional purposes and in publications including the Annual Report and Yearbook.
• Submit an approximately 500-word report no later than eight weeks post-residency regarding their residency and experience.

Please email [email protected], for any inquiries regarding the application process.

Read more about TROPICAL LAB on the LASALLE College of the Arts website.

CONTACT

+61 2 9339 8742
[email protected]

We encourage all eligible candidates to apply, regardless of whether this is your first residency application. Please contact the International Residencies Coordinator to discuss any accessibility requirements or adjustments that can be made to your application process.