The Creative Fellowship scheme is an annual programme of residencies intended to support the production of new creative work, in collaboration with researchers, responding to this fascinating site and engaging audiences in its history through creative means. From its foundation, the workhouse system cared for those in need. It was a homeless shelter, a children’s home, a care home, a hospital, a school and a job centre; the Welfare State in embryonic form. Today we see the inheritance of this system all around us. In 2017 we want to focus on ‘sickness and health’ exploring the path the workhouse and its residents took from paupers to patients over nearly 200 years.

Background

The National Trust works to preserve and protect historic places and spaces - for ever, for everyone.

The Workhouse, Southwell

This austere building, the most complete workhouse in existence, was built in 1824 as a place of last resort for the destitute. Its architecture was influenced by prison design and its harsh regime became a blueprint for workhouses throughout the country.

The stories of those who lived and worked here in the 1840s help bring the building to life and prompt reflection on how society has tackled poverty through the centuries.

In 2016 The National Trust supported its first Creative Fellow at The Workhouse, Southwell. The Creative Fellowship scheme is an annual programme of residencies intended to support the production of new creative work, in collaboration with researchers, responding to this fascinating site and engaging audiences in its history through creative means. It has been introduced as part of the Re-imaging The Workhouse programme, encouraging visitors to explore The Workhouse in new ways through creative arts and technology.

From its foundation, the workhouse system cared for those in need. It was a homeless shelter, a children’s home, a care home, a hospital, a school and a job centre; the Welfare State in embryonic form. Today we see the inheritance of this system all around us. In 2017 we want to focus on ‘sickness and health’ exploring the path the workhouse and its residents took from paupers to patients over nearly 200 years.

In 2016 Creative Fellow, musician Chris T-T, worked with researchers and performers to produce a series of musical works under the project title ‘A Ballad for Southwell’.  The works will be performed publicly at The Workhouse for the first time in autumn 2016 and will be available as a free download and limited CD.  Excerpts from the work in progress were used on a pilot for a new digital trail at The Workhouse, developed with the University of Nottingham. This initial fellowship was set up with support from curatorial collective, CommonAs, with the intention that the Trust continue an annual Creative Fellowship programme managed independently in subsequent years.  

The Workhouse would now like to appoint a Creative Fellow for 2017, building on the successful work undertaken by Chris T-T.  For the 2017 we are looking for expressions of interest from artists or groups of artists working in the areas of performance and site response practice in the broadest sense, including live art, physical theatre, interactive, immersive and site specific theatre, performance poetry and digital installation.  We are particularly interested in non-traditional approaches to interpreting the site, its histories and its iconic architecture. The Fellowship will work alongside academic researchers exploring the same theme.  In addition the site holds a massive narrative resource in both archival material and its historical context, and has a recognised strength in traditional storytelling, with a team of over 200 extremely committed volunteer storytellers, researchers and archivists, delivering a range of regular events. It is hoped that this Fellowship will draw upon these strengths as an opportunity for engagement and to experiment with, and challenge, traditional notions of narrative interpretation. 

The Workhouse is a Grade II* building and no works can be attached to the fabric of the architecture.

The Fellowship will take place between January and October, including research and planning time, workshops with volunteers and community groups and in staging the developed work, with the majority of the production time taking place during the spring and summer period. It is planned that there will be a  ‘hand over’ opportunity for the 2016 Creative Fellow to meet the incoming Fellow and to share material and ideas in early 2017

We are looking for artists with capacity to produce work that is both site responsive, but has the potential to be shared with audiences more widely, and where collaboration and participation is an embedded part of their creative practice.

Aims

• To explore creatively the full potential of the site, including its archives, people and physical spaces as a resource and site for the creation of a new collaborative, performance based and/or site responsive work.

• Build on the work started by Chris T-T in 2016, as the first Creative Fellow at The Workhouse, extending the creative reach and involvement.

• To work with academics to explore the contemporary relevance of the site and its relationship to present day issues.

• To work with community groups in the creation and production of a new work.

• To identify and bring in new audiences to the property.

• To find new ways of communicating the narrative potential of The Workhouse history and individual stories, and to build on the site’s existing strength and work in these areas.

• To create an innovative narrative work pushing the boundaries of traditional storytelling.

• To reveal new stories and tell existing stories in new ways.

• To create a piece with the potential to be included in full or in part on other platforms, such as the digital guide to the workhouse, online, or via performance elsewhere.

• To contribute to a wider programme of activity started in 2016, re-imaging the Workhouse.

• Foster a sense of creative experimentation in the culture of the property.

• To make the process of production visible to a visiting audience and engage them in its progress via direct contact with visitors and online platforms e.g. blog/ NT website / Social media.

Objectives 

It is anticipated that the Creative Fellow will work over 20 days between January and October 2017 researching, developing and producing  a new work culminating in a public event in October 2017 and other outputs, as appropriate to the piece created.

• To support the creation of a new performance and/or site responsive work in response to The Workhouse, Southwell, to be staged on site in Autumn 2017.

• To work with community groups, identified in partnership with The Workhouse, in the production of the work.

• To involve volunteers in the development, production and staging of the work.

• To support a professional artist/ company to undertake a 20 day residency working from The Workhouse as a base, including:

• Creative Fellow handover

• Planning and research

• Community workshop days

• volunteer production days

• public presentation days 

It is anticipated that the majority of the time will be spent at the site and that there will opportunities for the process of developing the work to be made visible to a visiting audience at the site, as appropriate to the devised piece.  Research and/or production time required off-site will be agreed with the selected artist as part of their project proposal.

Approach:

Shortlisted artists will be invited to interview and paid a small fee to develop an outline proposal indicating their approach to the Fellowship and anticipated outputs, indicating how they intend to fulfil the aims of the brief.  

The selected artist will be invited for an initial planning session in late 2016/ early 2017 to agree a schedule of activity for the project, milestones and outputs. It is anticipated that the work itself will be refined and developed through the process of working with volunteers and community participants.

Support: 

The lead artists will be supported by the Creative and Community Programme Officer at The Workhouse in:

• finalising delivery schedule and agreeing project outputs

• identifying and approaching partner community groups

• communicating with volunteers and Trust staff

• making practical arrangements for workshops sessions

• documenting the project

• monitoring and evaluation

• providing support for public events

• working with Trust colleagues to project the project to participant and visitors.

They will work with the selected artist to ensure that the project is delivered in line with the Trust’s aims and ambitions, extending and complementing the existing activity of the site.

Budget

Total budget available to include fees, expenses and production costs: £15,000 

Essential requirements

• Established creative practice in performance or site responsive based practice and in delivering professional public outcomes

• Experience of developing project proposals in response to a brief

• Evidence of collaboration and co-creative development of works with public/community groups

• Available for 20 days between January and November 2017, with the substantial delivery period in the summer period of June/ July / August.

• Interest in ‘issue’ based creative practice and social history, as evidence through past creative output.

Desirable

• Experience of creating site responsive work, particularly in heritage or other spaces outside of traditional arts-based settings.

Application Guidelines

Deadline 12 midday 10 October 2016 

At this stage we are looking for Expressions of Interest.  Shortlisted applicants will be asked to develop a Project Proposal and invited for interview during the week commencing 24 October.