An artist-led, artist-focused international residency in Galera (Granada, Spain).

The fist edition of Stomping Ground! took place between the 2nd and 8th September 2019. The selected participants were: Claire Chapman (Australia), Helen Davison (UK),  Thomas Jancis (UK), Riocárd Ó hOdail (UK/Ireland), Catarina Pinto Soromenho (Portugal), Julene Robinson (Jamaica), and Mary Ann Vargas (Peru). They were joined by Barbaro Miyares Bravo (Cuba) as the audiovisual artist documenting the work and collaborating with the performance-makers and live artists.
     Their creative interests were as varied as their nationalities: darkness as a concept, voice as a cleansing tool/instrument, the mythology of different cultures, the preservation of natural spaces, drag culture, the figure of the healer-woman, the symbolic language of objects, or words that do not have a translation into English.
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With the support of Excmo. Ayuntamiento de Galera.

 ...Stomping Ground! in the media:

Stomping Ground!

2nd - 8th September 2019
​Galera, Spain
​Nothing is more precious to an artist than to escape the everyday... To take time... To ground oneself... 
​To reconnect.... To find inspiration... To be playful... 
To explore new ways of working and making...
To interrogate one's practice... To discover new spaces... To encounter new contexts and fellow artists...
To exchange ideas, stimuli and approaches... To create in a fun and carefree manner... To share work with supportive peers, and with a completely new audience.

Stomping Ground! is a residency for up to eight live artists and performance makers, looking to fulfill these needs. It is aimed at those hungry for new experiences, discovering new stimuli, sharing ways of working, and cross-pollinating with fellow artists.
     ​Stomping Ground! is a  nurturing and creative breeding ground for new ideas, to test and break the ground on a new project, or simply to re-energise your practice.

In the spirit of sharing (because sharing is caring),  Stomping Ground! welcomes, and indeed encourages, participants from diverse backgrounds, ages, and levels of experience.
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Full board!
Stomping Ground! will take place in and around the picturesque and sleepy town of Galera (Spain). 
 
​You will be hosted in one of Galera's idiosyncratic cave-houses; which has been respectfully renovated to the highest standard, whilst maintaining the unique local character.
     Sleeping deep within the solid, stock-still and protective earth, which maintains a cool temperature even in the hottest summer, is a near-spiritual experience. You'll rest like never before! Double and twin bedrooms are available, and room/bed sharing (among same-gender participants) is possible/necessary; bathroom facilities will be shared between max. 4 people.

​Stomping Ground! is about shutting out the internet's hubbub, and creatively re-connecting with one's practice from the ground up. So, luckily, there's no Wi-Fi! And mobile data is only accessible on certain spots (though not in your bedroom, since it'll be deep within the rock!).

Mealtimes will be communal, social occasions to bond, exchange ideas, and discuss the work.
     All meals provided, will be home-cooked (by Pablo's mum), following a seasonal menu, using the best local produce. There will be vegetarian and non-vegetarian options available (meat or fish). Local vineyards laid by the Romans, to this day, produce an excellent artisan wine, which will be served at mealtimes (freshly made lemonade will also be available). Other booze is up to each participant.
Our stomping ground....
Galera is situated 900 metres above sea level, at the heart of Granada's high plateau.

​During Stomping Ground!, we will make the most of this gorgeous setting by conducting much of our work outdoors:
  • around the cave-houses that line Galera's slopes;
  • below, in the grid-layout streets and village square;
  • and in the adjacent countryside; up on the hilltop badlands, and down in the lush meadows where the River Galera follows its lazily meandering course.
To escape the heat, we will retreat below ground into the cave-houses, where we can rest or continue to work. Thanks to the support of Galera's Town Hall, we have also been granted access to a studio space.
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It's worth noting Galera's rich heritage and history. Around 1800 B.C., it was the Stomping Ground! of Bronce Age cultures; with Argaric people settling at the Castellon Alto.
     Later, the area was settled by Iberians, Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans; who left copious remains at the Necropolis of Tutugi.
​     Galera was also the backdrop to dramatic episodes during the Catholic conquest of Al-Andalus; changing hands among the advancing forces and  their Islamic enemies. In 1568, the people of Galera participated in the Morisco Revolt; which led to one final and bloody act in this clash between civilisations. 
What is included....
Over seven days, and involving a small group of up to eight artists, Stomping Ground! will include:
  • 6 nights of accommodation, three home-cooked meals  a day (and snacks for the little hunger in between);
  • performative walks around Galera to engage with the terrain and search for inspiration;
  • basic materials (paper, pens/paint, gaffer and LX tape some artifacts and costume...). Participants  are encouraged to bring their own materials and share from their personal stash;​ interesting local artifacts can also be sourced in situ;
  • participant-centred and participant-led workshops, to share approaches to live art and performance-making practices;
  • short seminars and discussions on the topics of dramaturgy, composition, materiality and musicality;
  • Owl-Playtime, late play sessions into the night, since a particular kind of creativity can sometimes come when the sun is down;
  • time to reflect, digest and dream, as well as rest;
  • work-sessions to get ideas off the ground, to find common ground by collaborating, and/or to prepare the ground to develop new individual or collaborative work;
  • opportunities to share work among participants and with the local public (besides locals and tourists, there's even an international community of residents!);
  • audiovisual documentation of the residency and the work  generated by Guillermo Alcalá-Santaella, an award-winning videographer, film and documentary maker (who filmed and edited the two videos to the right);
  • cultural visits in and around Galera (the museum, church and archaeological sites);
  • optional visits to the nearby villages of Orce, Huescar and/or Cullar;
  • an optional visit to Fuencaliente for a swim in a pool fed by a hot spring, where waters emerges at 21ºC all year round ​heated by geothermic activity.
(Below: video shot on the hilltop badlands outside Galera in June 2017, as a collaboration with Jason Brooks.)
 How...

Stomping Ground! is based on the ethos of:
  • D.I.Y. culture,
  • generosity and humility of spirit,
  • being curious, fearless and fully embracing the ​ unknown. 

Stomping Ground! is a sharing space. It will enable and facilitate the exchange of stimuli, techniques, and approaches to making live art and performance work.
     The residency will be hosted and facilitated by Pablo Pakula, who has been a practitioner-academic hybrid since 2006. He has thirteen years' experience in making contemporary performance and live art;  teaching practice and facilitating practice in Higher Education (University of Birmingham, University of Kent, Central School of Speech and Drama, Canterbury Christchurch University, Institut del Teatre Barcelona); as well as producing & hosting events and platforms for sharing practice. 
Prior to the residence, participants will use Google Drive to begin the sharing process and, by exchanging our current concerns (creative, social, conceptual), we will refine and finalise the schedule of activities for the week.

The seminars and discussions (on dramaturgy, composition, materiality, musicality) will be led/facilitated by Pablo, as open and discursive platforms. And of course participants will be able to contribute! There'll be a suggested reading list for each topic, to which participants can add with their own suggestions via Google Drive.
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The work will be shared with the local public in these ways: informally and in a haphazard manner, during our outdoor workshops and play sessions; during impromptu or planned public interventions (more suited to the afternoon); and at a special evening performance event (which will be advertised throughout Galera and nearby villages). It is for the latter, that we are hoping to secure a theatre space in Galera, which is under the Town Hall's management. Though of course, the village itself can also serve as our backdrop.