Homotopia has championed LGBTQIA artists based in/from Liverpool and the North West for 17 years. QueerCore is our artist development programme for early-career artists from the Liverpool City Region.
WHAT IS QUEERCORE?
QueerCore is Homotopia’s formal artist development programme for early-career artists. The programme runs for 12 months and offers a selection of exciting and tailored support for LGBTQIA artists in the Liverpool City Region to grow, build connections and develop new ideas.
WHAT YOU’LL GET
Starting in late March 2021, a 12-month programme of support including;
- A £2000 grant to spend on developing a new project, idea or strand of work.
- A mentor appropriate to your needs as an artist/artist collective.
- Access to specialist workshops on fundraising, marketing/PR and financial management for artists.
- Monthly mixers with other local queer artists, creatives and producers.
- A residential learning and development weekend in…Blackpool!
- A chance to present some form of work/work-in-process at Homotopia Festival 2021
MORE ABOUT THE PROGRAMME
Over the course of this programme, you will have access to the Homotopia team, mentors and other LGBTQIA artists and producers. Rather than generic support, we like to focus your QueerCore programme around a specific project or idea, so that we can guide you through something practical and hit the ground running when you join the programme.
QueerCore is also about creating a community, meeting members of QueerCore old and new, and the vast variety of artists, producers, and venues we work with in Liverpool and beyond.
We are flexible and adaptive and expect to change and tweak elements of the programme over the course of the 12-months, as well as finding more opportunities for artists on the programme.
Our 2020 – 2021 cohort (read all about them here) benefited from opportunities to perform, host workshops and/or exhibit their work during Homotopia Festival 2020. Two of the artists were also offered external commissions thanks to Homotopia’s support. Many received additional press coverage, increase in social media followers and interest from other programmers, producers and creatives.
CRITERIA
This programme is for artists who are all of the following criteria:
- Define as LGBTQIA;
- Are based in the Liverpool City Region (Liverpool, Halton, Knowsley, St Helen, Wirral);
- Would say they are at an early stage in their career;
- Are not due to take part in any other formal artist development programmes in 2021 – 2022.
This opportunity is NOT just for under 25s; all early-career artists are welcome whatever your career journey to date. We would especially love to hear from applicants who belong to groups underrepresented in the arts, including QTIBPoC, queer D/deaf and disabled people, and Trans* folks.
We are looking to recruit 4 artists/collectives for the 2021 – 2022 programme.
HOW TO APPLY
Please complete and return the QueerCore application form AND an anonymous Equality & Diversity Monitoring form.
Return to hello@homotopia.net by 23:59 on Monday 15 March 2021.
If for access reasons, you prefer to apply via video or audio recording, you may provide a max. 8 minute video/voice recording answering the questions found on the application form. Please send to hello@homotopia.net via WeTransfer or a Dropbox link by 23:59 on Monday 15 March 2021.
TIMELINE
Applications open: 14 January 2021
Applications close: 23:59 on 15 March 2021
Decisions: w/c 22 March 2021
Start: w/c 5 April 2021
First Mentor Meetings: April 2021
First specialist workshop: May 2021
Idea for festival confirmed: mid-June 2021
Residential training weekend: Late June 2021
Homotopia Festival: October – November 2021
Planning next steps: December – March 2022
NOTE: All dates and activities are subject to change in accordance with the most up-to-date COVID-19 regulations and any impacts of cornavirus on Homotopia’s staff team and workloads.