Absolutely Cultured are accepting proposals from artists from Hull and the North of England for a new Creative Micro-Commission Programme which offers £350 to creative practitioners from any discipline including visual arts, performance, spoken word, film and sound to produce a new work within the limits of working under current social distancing measures.
The programme is designed to enable artists to respond and create new work quickly encouraging the space and freedom to try out new ideas and ways of creating work for online presentation.
They will commission up to six new pieces for presentation on our website and across our social media channels. Each artist’s commission will be a feature on our digital channels for a selected time up to two weeks and then will remain online alongside all other commissioned works for the duration of this live programme. We see this as an initial pilot programme with the potential to be continued in the future.
What they are looking for
Absolutely Cultured are seeking proposals that reflect on and respond to the current global COVID-19 situation, using the changes to circumstances as an opportunity to create new work in new ways for online presentation. Inspiration can be drawn from how you as an artist have been directly affected in terms of your work, working practice, health and social life or from the wider implications COVID-19 is having on society locally and globally now or in the future. Inspiration for the commission may include but not be limited to how information about the crisis is being distributed, how governments and communities are responding differently, how individuals are being impacted day to day, positive coping mechanisms that individuals, communities and companies have initiated or the mental health impacts of living in this time of uncertainty.
They want to encourage experimentation and innovation with how work can be created and presented online. Proposals should have a dynamic element to them even if the work is a static piece such as a sculpture or drawing, for instance the making of the work should be captured through video or there could be an online public participatory element to the work. They are open to ideas and suggestions but as a guide, selected commissions may take the form of:
- A single video piece or performance;
- A series of short live events or performances;
- A new visual art piece with associated films of how the work was created;
- An illustrated piece with call to action for public to add to or respond through social media;
- A series of writing and photographs released periodically that tell a story.
Considerations you may need to make for your proposal and creative response to this micro-commission could include the following:
- Your new situation and reduced access to materials than you’re normally used to;
- The different online platforms that are available to present the work;
- The audience that will engage with your work and who your work is aimed at;
- Where you will create the work due to changes in access to the physical spaces you normally use such as studio or rehearsal spaces, and how this new use of space impacts the creation of the work;
- Reduced physical contact with other people during social distancing and/or isolation and the impact this may have on collaboration or participation.
They welcome proposals that are collaborative or participatory, represent diversity and consider ways to ensure inclusivity within the presented work.
To find out more about the programme and how to apply, download the Creative Micro-Commission Programme brief.
If you have any queries, please contact getinvolved@absolutelycultured.co.uk.
Applications are open to artists from Hull and across the North of England.
Deadline for submissions is midnight on 19 April with successful applicants being informed by 24 April.