Making Routes Artist Call Out: An opportunity to develop inclusive artistic practice

Project DescriptionMaking Routes is a unique creative partnership between Oasis Children’s Venture (Oasis), South London Gallery (SLG) and Battersea Arts Centre (BAC) funded by the Spirit of 2012 Trust. Six disabled and non-disabled artists will deliver regular arts activities and residencies utilising their experience in three distinct forms: visual arts, play and performing arts.

Activity will take place across all three South London based organisations and will engage disabled and non-disabled children and young people growing up in densely populated urban environments. The 18-month project will culminate in an inclusive festival across all three venues showcasing the project’s creative outputs and the talents of the participants.

The three organisations are neighbours, joined by a single bus route. This project represents an exciting opportunity to bring adjacent communities together, place children at the centre of the project as co-collaborators and ensure that disabled people are visible, valued and fully included in community and cultural life.

New creative work will be generated, experiences shared, friendships formed and links between visual art, play and performance explored.

Central to Making Routes is a clear theory of change, knowledge and experience within each partner organisation and a shared passion for collaborative child-centred practice. This ambitious partnership trusts and invests in the imaginations and innate creativity of children and the power of genuine collaboration to create sustainable change at individual, community and institutional levels.

The Artist RoleAt the heart of the project is the idea that on-going collaborative relationships between children and artists can lead to innovative creative outcomes and positive development for all parties. This project aims to offer artists new contexts within which to develop their practice: from the dynamic, inventive environment of an adventure playground, to a purpose-built flexible studio space at the centre of a gallery, to the rich history of a theatre and performance space in an old Town Hall.

Artists will help children explore and use their surroundings in new ways. New permissions to experiment, imagine and create will be established through sustained activity over 18 months. A flexible approach to the form and scheduling of residencies will ensure they reflect the needs and opportunities of the project, artists and participants.

We’re looking for artists to work in residence across the three organisations from March 2016 to October 2017. The artists will work with a range of diverse children and young people within each organisation, completing a project or residency at each of the three venues for up to three months.

The form these take can be flexible in approach, duration and intensity in order to reflect the interests of the artist and the best way of working with specific groups. We anticipate the artist’s time commitment to be equivalent to 1 day per week for the three months, however this could be scheduled in different ways e.g. a few full time weeks, or regular weekly sessions.

The artist would ideally have experience of or an interest in working inclusively with children or young people, and a strong sense of collaborative working. Their practice would inform this process.

The programme will include training, professional development and regular meetings with key staff members from all three organisations.

Following the submission of an Expression of Interest, shortlisted artists will be invited to attend two Inspiration Days across all three sites. Through these inspiration days we will give you more information about the contexts you would be working in, as well as talks from Playworkers, Artists and Academics etc. which will help to inform your final written proposal. We will be selecting six artists in total at the end of this process Attendance at the Inspiration Days will be paid.

Artist Fee £2,000 per project/venue (total £6,000) with an additional materials budget available for each project activity.

We’re interested in hearing from a diverse range of artists from all backgrounds and artistic practices and we will provide access support wherever possible for disabled artists to enable the widest range of applicants to gain this opportunity. There is a separate budget for access requirements, which can be discussed, as necessary.

Timeframe January – February 2016: Artist call-out, inspiration days and recruitment March 2016: Induction, orientation and training April 2016 – September 2017: Project Activity. Each artist will be expected to deliver a period of regular activity of up to three months at each venue. (These can be flexible and adjusted to the needs of the activity) October 2017: Inclusive Children’s Arts Festival (held across all three venues)

Key DatesExpression of Interest Closing Date: 12:00pm, Friday 12th February 2016Inspiration Days: Thursday 18th and Friday 19th February 2016Written Proposal Deadline: 10:00am, Tuesday 23rd February 2016

To apply, please complete the following questions and return it for the attention of Matthew via email to makingroutes@oasisplay.org.uk along with your CV and a link to your website/images/social media (if applicable). Call 020 7622 8756 for more info.

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Artist Expression of Interest

Please allow approximately 200 words per question

1. Please describe any initial ideas or processes that you’d like to explore within the Making Routes project. (A broad idea of what it is you’d like to do and how this relates to your practice.)

2. Tell us about your approach to working collaboratively with children and young people.

3. Tell us about any experience you have of disability and working inclusively.

4. How will these residencies help to inform or develop your current practice? (Where would you like to see your practice at the end of the project?)

5. Please let us know about any support needs if you have them.

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