MOVING OUR FUTURES

Coventry MotoFest, Coventry University

Call out:

Launch open call – 28 July

Deadline – 9am Monday 20 September

Selection – 21/22 September

Notify – 24 September

Lab dates – 4-8 October (inclusive) (10am – 6pm)

General Information

This is a call out for an artist’s lab developed by Coventry Moto Fest and Coventry University.

The lab is funded by Arts Council England.

The lab is open to artists from all art-forms including visual arts, photography, theatre, sound, live art, design, digital and any other hybrid forms. It is open to artists at ALL career stages as a professional development opportunity. You must be based in the West Midlands, within travelling distance of Coventry.

The lab will be facilitated by artist Simon Poulter in Coventry. We will be working with a range of inputs from people investigating the way we work and travel in the near future. This will include inputs from faculty staff at Coventry University and also the public sector in terms of planning.

The week-long session invites artists to consider novel or distinctive responses to travel and what a truly connected city means, against the backdrop of Coventry’s year of culture in 2021.

A key objective of the lab is to broker links between artists and industry to stimulate a human centred innovation in thinking about connectedness. Artists’ journeys can be imagined in many ways and we encourage applications that are expansive in response to the theme.

The call out and selection of artists will be reflective of the West Midlands diverse population.

What will it be like?

Successful applicants will have an opportunity to make new work, learn new skills and participate in a peer-to-peer making environment.

The lab environment is intensive, friendly and encapsulates both practical skills and theory. There will be exploration of Coventry as a city, along with sessions run by other professionals. You will learn new skills and have the opportunity to present your own work to peers. It has been described as ‘like doing an MA in a week’.

If you have any particular needs around mobility or access you can identify these to us in advance, as the lab is built around the participants. If you are accepted onto the lab, we will call you beforehand to discuss the process with you and any particular questions you have.

What is the commitment level?

You have to be able to commit to the whole week, it is not a course, it’s an intensive lab.

Professional Development, food and honorariums

This is a professional development opportunity to develop your practice. However, we acknowledge that equal access support is needed, to make this open to participants on lower incomes. We offer a flat rate honorarium of £300 to every participant. Food is covered for the duration of the lab.

More notes on practice and process

The lab approach aims to fold live performance, digital outputs and site-specific production into new work. Artists are encouraged to work outside of their normal skill sets and consider wider producer models for making new work.

The lab will combine practical input from previous projects, with taught technical sessions.

Artists do not have to have previous experience of technical tools and may arise from any artistic background and skill level.

To Apply:

Write one side of A4 about the work you do and the challenges you face in your practice. Tell us about what you have been making in the last year and what you would do if you had the right resources. We are looking for artists at all career stages, who want to find some new directions in their work. We particularly welcome applications from diverse candidates, or artists that have not followed a traditional art education track. (You do not need an art degree to apply.)

If you are unable to write a side of A4 but would be willing to submit a video application including the details stated above, we will also accept this kind of application. Please also include any specific access support you would need to make the lab work for you.

Places are limited for this lab but in rare circumstances we will consider artists who work as part of a shared practice (up to two people). If you apply as a duo, then provide one application for both people with relevant CV and imagery of shared practice.

Send us some web links or a digital portfolio (up to ten pages as PDF format). Try to keep the file size under 15mb if you can.

Other notes:

We will provide lunch and refreshments during the day but are not offering overnight accommodation for artists. You will be resident in the West Midlands area and able to attend for five days in Coventry.

There are 10 places available for the lab.

Applications should be returned to: kat@coventrymotofest.com