The main way that artists are selected for Sacatar residencies is through our Open Calls. However, institutional partnerships are also an important aspect of our mission of supporting artists and creativity, and sometimes artists come to Sacatar as a result of collaborations with different organizations. This is the case with four of the residents in this session, whose residencies at Sacatar are the result of three different partnerships:
SECULT: The Secretary of Culture of the State of Bahia has awarded Sacatar with a three-year grant which will guarantee the presence of at least one Bahian artist per residency session until 2027.
Through the Fundo de Cultura – Apoio à Açōes Continuadas, SECULT will make it possible for artists from different regions of the State of Bahia, as well as artists coming from the peripheries to have the conditions to fully enjoy a residency at Sacatar. We are thrilled to welcome Fernanda Costa as the first
resident coming to Sacatar with SECULT’s support!
Djerassi: the Djerassi Resident Artists Program is an important artists residency in California (USA), which Sacatar is delighted to partner with through a “fellow exchange”; that is, one fellow appointed by Djerassi comes to Sacatar and vice-versa. Collaborations like this guarantee further opportunities for Sacatar fellows and for international exchange and creation. This session, we are happy to welcome Dazaun Soleyn – a Djerassi fellow – to Sacatar.
La Fondation des Artistes: Artists Hélène Bertin and Julien Discrit arrive at Sacatar with the support of the Fondation des Artistes (France). The foundation plays a crucial role in supporting artists at various stages of their carreers, and through this collaboration between the Fondation des Artistes and Sacatar, artists supported by the foundation will have the opportunity to experience a Sacatar fellowship.
Partnerships like these are important to the artists who benefit from them, but are also crucial to bring cultural organizations from different places closer together and to strengthen a local and international arts ecosystem.
These artists will be in residence at the Instituto Sacatar on Itaparica Island in Bahia, Brazil, from September 2 to November 4, 2024.
Ann Mary Gollifer
Visual Arts
Sacatar Open Call 2022
Guyana > UK > Botswana
Ann Mary Gollifer’s roots trace back to the Barima-Waina district of Guyana, situated in the Northwestern reaches of the Schomburgk line. With a rich heritage—her mother being Warao-Arawak and her father English—Gollifer’s early education took place in England and Scotland, where she earned an honors degree in Art History. In 1985, she relocated to Botswana, where she has since established herself as a prominent visual artist and curator. More recently, she founded the Art Residency Centre in Gaborone, Botswana.
As a painter and printmaker, Gollifer’s work is deeply connected to the land, often utilizing earth from Botswana to create watercolor paints. Her art consistently explores the fundamental question of what it means to be human.
Gollifer approaches her residency at Sacatar with the mission of uncovering and documenting the traces of the indigenous pre-Columbian residents of Bahia. During her time in Itaparica, she will catalogue the names of local flora and fauna, both in text and image, across all languages.
Dazaun Soleyn
Dance
Partnership with Djerassi Resident Artists Program
USA
Dazaun Soleyn, a multi-disciplinary artist based in the Bay Area since 2013, holds a BFA in Modern Dance Performance and Choreography from the University of South Florida and a Masters in Architecture from California College of the Arts.
His creative practice, which spans dance, architecture, sculpture, and interactive installations, is centered on the intersection of healing and spiritual connection within the African Diaspora. Soleyn’s creative process begins with meditation, research, sketches, journaling, model-making, and movement explorations, all of which allow him to connect with greater forces of love, fear, and ancestral ties.
Community feedback plays a crucial role in refining the work, ensuring it remains relevant and resonant. The project Soleyn is developing at Sacatar aims to create culturally impactful architectural pieces that evoke joy, tranquility, and healing. Soleyn is developing a new work titled “may we heal?”, a powerful performance piece that delves into the healing journey of a Black body burdened by generational trauma. The piece intertwines dance, song, spoken word, and architecture to create a deeply human experience, inviting audiences to connect with the work on a personal and emotional level.
During the residency, Soleyn is exploring the relationship between his unique movement aesthetic and Black dance traditions, including house, jazz, and swing/lindy hop. Additionally, he is experimenting with collaborative structured improvisation to further enhance the work’s dynamic nature.
Dazaun Soleyn’s residency is a result of an ongoing partnership between Instituto Sacatar and the Djerassi Resident Artists Program (USA). Also resulting from this partnership is a residency, in October, of a former Sacatar fellow at Djerassi.
Fernanda Costa
Artes Multidisciplinares
SECULT
Brasil
Nascida em Salvador, Fernanda Costa é uma artista e dançarina cuja prática investiga a interseção entre corporeidades negras e ambientes urbanos, utilizando experiências e memórias coletivas para moldar identidades diaspóricas. Por meio de seu trabalho, ela cria documentos poéticos que narram as aparências e transformações de corpos e culturas, desafiando a violência colonial e o apagamento.
A artista possui formação em balé clássico, jazz, dança contemporânea, moderna, afro-brasileira e orixá, e formou-se em Dança pela Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA) em 2009.
Seu trabalho internacional inclui a performance em 2019 na mostra “Aesthetics of Colors” e a coreografia e direção em 2024 da peça “Caminhos das Águas – Unaufhaltsames Fliessen”, ambos no Ballhaus Naunynstrasse de Berlim. Atualmente, como pesquisadora de pós-cultura na UFBA, seu trabalho concentra-se na memória e na corporeidade das mulheres negras em Salvador.
No Sacatar, Fernanda Costa desenvolverá “Aiyeminjoo”, uma performance que explora as experiências de mulheres diaspóricas que carregam imagens espelhadas em seus corpos. Esses espelhos, mesmo quando quebrados, representam fragmentos de outras existências e servem como ferramentas para construir conforto e pertencimento.
Esta residência conta com o apoio da Secretaria de Cultura do Estado da Bahia – SECULT, por meio do Fundo de Cultura – Apoio às Ações Continuadas.
Geralyn Shukwit
Photography
Sacatar Open Call 2022
USA
Artist Geralyn Shukwit will use her residency to refine “O Tempo Não Para,” an ongoing photography project that captures the essence of Bahia. During this period, Shukwit aims to delve deeper into her images, seeking fresh connections and perspectives. She is eager to engage with the local Bahian community to ensure her portrayal accurately reflects the region’s spirit. The ultimate goal is to prepare the work for publication and broaden its audience.
Shukwit’s art explores the intricate relationship between people and landscapes. Her extensive photography projects range from New York to Brazil, blending documentary and fine art approaches to reveal these connections. Her work has been exhibited in the United States, Spain, and Ethiopia, and published in National Geographic, Progresso Fotografico, BIG Magazine, Edge of Humanity, and by Blue Sky Gallery. She has received accolades such as the Julia Margaret Cameron Award, Photolucida Critical
Mass Top 50, AI/AP Latin American Fotografia, APA/NY, and International Photography Awards (IPA), and was nominated for the Henri Cartier-Bresson Award.
As a photographer, Shukwit thrives on authentic interactions, preferring to observe rather than direct her subjects. This approach allows moments to naturally unfold, although she sometimes misses a shot while engaging in conversation. These interactions are integral to shaping the unique character of her projects.
Helene Bertin
Visual Arts
Partnership with La Fondation des Artistes
France
At Sacatar, Hélène Bertin will continue her exploration of the gatherer-dancer figure, a concept she has been developing alongside her ceramics practice over the past few years. This time, she will focus on a smaller scale, creating amulets that reflect a more nomadic lifestyle. Bertin aims to explore new plant species, including lianas, fruit trees, and forest trees, to deepen her understanding of the Bahian landscape.
Bertin, born in France in 1989, describes her approach as “deliberately bastardised,” a methodology she employs both as an artist and a researcher. Currently based in Cucuron (France), she enriches her practice through collaborations and interactions with passionate individuals, continually engaging with the notion
of otherness. She eschews traditional disciplinary boundaries, instead using gesture and matter as means to integrate diverse practices.
Upon graduating from the École des Beaux-Arts, Bertin returned to her childhood village and traveled through various regions to study ceramics and immerse herself in local crafts, cuisine, dances, and songs. This connection to culture remains a significant influence on her work. Helene Bertin’s residency is part of an ongoing collaboration between Sacatar and Fondation des Artistes.
Julien Discrit
Visual Arts
Partnership with La Fondation des Artistes
France
Julien Discrit, born in France in 1978, is a visual artist whose career has spanned numerous solo and group exhibitions both in France and internationally. A graduate of ESAD Reims (2004), Discrit’s work has been prominently featured in exhibitions such as “Trio: Modern Art Collections from Paris, Tokyo, and Osaka” at the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo (2024) and the Lyon International Contemporary Art Biennale (2011, 2017, 2024). His pieces are included in various public and private collections and have earned him multiple awards and grants, including those from the Fondation des Artistes (2016, 2022), the Fawu Prize, and the Sacatar Residency Program (2024). Since 2016, he has been represented by AnneSarah Bénichou in Paris.
Discrit’s artistic practice centers on exploring physical and biological processes through their capacity to generate forms. He investigates their emergence and epresentation as experimental results, drawing inspiration from geomorphology and neuroscience. His works are seen as imprints that evoke both collective and personal memory, reflecting a constant metamorphosis of time and the world.
In his upcoming residency in Itaparica, Discrit will further his exploration of memory and reminiscence by examining the interplay between natural processes and cultural heritage. His research will focus on how environmental forces shape physical landscapes and collective memory, aiming to reveal the dialogue between geological time and cultural practices. This residency will result in a body of work that bridges Bahia’s material and intangible legacy, integrating past and present through various artistic mediums. Discrit plans to work with photographs and video images and collaborate with ceramic artisans during this period.
