March 1 - June 30, 2013

The MeetFactory Residency Program aims to support and develop contemporary art with a focus on international cooperation. The aim is to present the Czech art scene to foreign artists, as well as foreign productions to the Czech Republic. What makes MeetFactory unique is the fact that there is theatre, film, music and a gallery all under one roof, which allows the resident artists to fully benefit from their stay. At the same time, artists can produce their work in the very space where it will be presented, helping them to fully anticipate the specific requirements.

The goal of MeetFactory is to support top-quality foreign artists, which is the main criterion of the selection of individuals. There is an ongoing cooperation with a wide range of curators, lecturers and gallerists in various countries that give recommendations for individual artists. Based on the recommendation list, the art council in cooperation with a representative of the supporting organisation decides which artists will be offered a residency at MeetFactory.

Read more about the Meet Factory.

Taf Hassam (1980, UK) is an artist and organiser. He studied Photography and English Literature in Brighton and later settled in Ireland where he had an active role in the art, theatre and music scenes. In 2005, he moved to Amsterdam to study at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie (NL) receiving a Bachelor in Fine Art and an Honours Degree in Artistic Research & Scientific Practice. Between 2008 and 2010 he completed a Master in Fine Art at The Dutch Art Institute (NL).

Taf Hassam's work oscillates between photography, text, performance, and sound, and often assumes curatorial and editorial roles as forms of artistic practice. Generally his work deals with activating what he calls 'the dead space' of the conventional exhibition model, while highlighting the interrelationships between cultural production and politics. His practice extends to producing homemade publications, music events, lectures, exhibitions, and his topics can range from questions surrounding self-organisation, marginalised and fictionalised histories, to the history of free expression in music. In 2010, he co-founded Goleb, an independent art space in Amsterdam where he continues to work as an organiser.

Recent projects include: Like Fire, Expansible Over All Space, And Like The Air In Which We Breathe, Move (2013) performance and exhibition at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, India; John Ferrari–An American Tragedy (2012) photographic and text work, as part of the group exhibition Porta Nigra at Hidde van Seggelen Gallery, London; Street by Street–Block by Block (2012) publication and lecture with Roel Griffioen and Jeremiah Day, INexactly This: Festival of Independents, Amsterdam; f.i.r.e.i.n.c.a.i.r.o. (2012) live radio and event space, appeared as part of the conference We Are The Time: Art Lives in the Age of Global Transition at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam.