Created in 2006 by Jorge Lopes Ramos and Persis-Jade Maravala, DRIFT International is an intensive professional development programme for emerging artists. This intensive residency setting provides tools for multi-disciplinary collaboration, opportunities for personal development and experimentation with local audiences.
Through DRIFT International, ZU-UK has mentored over 200 international artists in its 15 editions in over ten countries. In partnership with inspirational local artists, ZU-UK directors coordinate a series of intensive sessions designed to help artists develop their projects and practices.
DRIFT International residencies allow emerging artists to challenge their ideas in a diverse environment, fast-track international partnerships through match-making, and expand their practice by providing tools and vocabulary to enable collaboration within new disciplines and cultures.
WHAT IS ATTENDING DRIFT LIKE?
DRIFT is constantly evolving residency responding to the times. Its current format is 5 day, 9am-9pm urban residency program. Days are strongly formatted and guided. Provocations are provided each day to spark inspiration and encourage interdisciplinary exploration and collaboration.
“The DRIFT residency provides such an intense methodology – even the catering is taken care of – so we literally don’t have to leave the building all day. The days are structured with 10 different approaches to creating work. You’re constantly being asked to develop and show and test and show and show again every day.”
– Jorge Lopes Ramos
DRIFT frames each day as a production cycle in which artist share their work with each other, each evening. This format allows artist to actively test ideas.
“the idea being to focus on producing something quickly – a kind of rapid prototyping that bears comparison to the ways in which the tech industry sometimes works. These early betas are to help inform a more involved piece of work, which will come later.”
– Ben Murry
DRFIT is a combination of students and individual international artists.
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WHAT HAVE PEOPLE WRITTEN ABOUT DRIFT?
Residency culminates in multi-disciplinary performance showcase
by Lee Pinkerton 2018
Inside the DRIFT residency
by Ben Murry 2015
DRIFT RESIDENCY IN RIO DE JANEIRO
by Tim Murray-Brown 2015
Just Drifting
by Dorothy Max Prior 2011
