Open Call - 3 Residency, Development & Exhibition Opportunities for Visual Artists at The Art House, Wakefield

Our Mission

Time, Space and Support

The Art House mission is to be a centre of excellence, providing time, space and support for artists and associates to develop their practice, networks and professional experience. In delivering our core purpose, we recognise and respond to artists that need different kinds of support at different stages in their careers, and we value diversity as a driver for artistic excellence and creative risk-taking.

We have developed distinctive approaches for both individual artists and groups, supporting production and presentation at pivotal points from graduation to mid careers that will have a significant impact on their practice and profile.

The Art House was established in 1994 by a group of artists with a vision to provide accessible studio space, where disabled and non-disabled artists could work alongside each other. In 2008, we opened our fully accessible ‘Phase 1’ building with 14 studios, a print studio, meeting rooms and a 3-bedroom flat for resident artists. With support from ACE’s Large Capital fund, Wakefield MDC and ERDF, in 2015 we completed ‘Phase 2’ with 34 further fully accessible artists’ studios, a purpose-built exhibition space and areas for collaborative work in the former Grade II listed Carnegie Library.

As a visual arts development agency, The Art House recognises diversity as fundamental to contemporary society and to the fostering of artistic excellence, and we particularly encourage applications from disabled and BAME artists. Through our studio tenures, residencies and exhibition programmes, we work with visual artists at critical stages in their careers, responding to identified needs.

Highlighting work that promotes diversity and equality, we support artists to realise their potential by:

·      Providing fully-accessible studios and facilities

·      Offering time and space for reflection, experimentation and development

·      Promoting work to audiences, physically and digitally

·      Commissioning and producing new work

·      Offering professional development support, appropriate to individual needs

·  Initiating critical dialogue and collaborative work between artists, audiences, curators and partner organisations

Our Values

Diversity. Accessibility. Innovation. Excellence. Transparency. Challenge.

The Art House supports artists to develop their practice, reach new audiences and to work with organisations involved in the arts. We focus on innovating and extending equality in the visual arts for disabled and non-disabled artists.

We provide a portfolio of opportunities including residencies, exhibitions, training, membership and 121 advice, together with studio space and accommodation. Our building provides 48 studios, a 10m by 8m Project Space and a fully equipped Print Studio (screen print, etching and laser cutter) through the conversion of a Grade II Carnegie Library next to our existing building, all with exemplary access, close to Wakefield Railway Station, and with a 3 bedroom flat to accommodate resident artists. We are also host to fellow arts organisations Axisweb, BEAM and YVAN.

Our Location

Wakefield District

Wakefield is a dynamic and developing cultural destination, containing Yorkshire Sculpture Park and The Hepworth Wakefield, as well as The Art House, which along with a host of other organisations run a bi-monthly Artwalk (www.artwalk.org.uk/). Thirteen minutes away to the North by train is Leeds, which has the recently reopened Leeds Art Gallery and is also home to the Henry Moore Institute, The Tetley and numerous artist-led spaces and organisations, and twenty-five minutes to the South is Sheffield, which also has many galleries and a vibrant artist-led scene.

The Residency Opportunities

The Art House is seeking proposals from artists who would like to take up one of three supported residencies at our purpose built studios in Wakefield to help them develop and extend their practice.  The callout is open to all, though at least one of the residencies will be reserved for a disabled artist (the Equalities Act 2010 says that a person is disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities). We provide:

·      A month long residency at the Art House including:

•   An artist’s fee of £1,500 (plus a materials budget up to a maximum of £750)

•   Free accommodation in our flat within the Art House building

•   Free studio space in the Art House (Studio G22, which is 14.5 square metres in size)

•   Free access to a fully equipped print studio, with screen print, etching and laser cutter

•   The services of a support technician, as part of our commitment to equality

·      An opportunity to show either a new body of work created during the residency, or work in progress in our Project Space and potentially elsewhere in the Art House building. We also expect artists to keep a residency blog, participate in an artist’s talk, and if appropriate to run a workshop relating to their practice)

·      Coaching and mentoring through 1-2-1 sessions with our team to support artists to develop their critical understanding of their artistic practice, marketing, and develop audiences for their work (we will look at artists’ support needs at the start of the residency and put together a package of support).

·      Travel expenses up to a maximum of £250 if needed.

We welcome proposals from artists working in all types of contemporary visual art practice, including photography, new media, fine art, artists’ moving image, live art, crafts, design, architecture, site-specific, socially engaged and interdisciplinary practices. We also encourage proposals from International artists as well as UK based artists. If you are successful then an initial conversation will explore your aspirations for this programme, and what other support may be needed and available from the Art House and its partners/associates. We are happy to discuss flexibility if any aspect of the offer needs adapting to suit your needs. We will also accept proposals from artists who would like to work collaboratively with another artist (whether or not they have a collaborator in mind), though in that case the fee would be split between the artists.

Selection:

The Art House is committed to developing and supporting contemporary art practice and critical debate around it. We are accepting proposals from artists at all stages of their development, and are particularly interested in artists who want to experiment, innovate and extend their practice.

Selected artists will be supported by the Art House team, which includes David Gilbert (a freelance curator and producer), Simon Boase and Printmaker/print technician Kirstie Williams.

Exhibition opening dates:

Each residency will run for a month and culminate in an exhibition or event in one of the following slots:

•   1 May - 31 May 2018, with a public event on 30 May 2018

•   28 June - 27 July 2018, with a public event on 25 July 2018

•   6 March - 29 March 2019, with a public event on 27 March 2019

If appropriate, works will be for sale and The Art House will take a 20% commission on any sales.

How to apply:

Deadline: 5 p.m. on Friday 26 January 2018

Applications can be made through Curatorspace

Please provide the following:

·      A brief proposal telling us what you would like to achieve through this programme, artistically and in terms of your development as an artist 

·      A statement describing your practice 

·      Curriculum Vitae if you have one

·      Visual material directly relating to the proposal such as previous or proposed art work (please either attach images or direct us to specific work you would like us to consider on the web. Please label any images – title, medium, dimensions and year)

·      Any preference for which residency you would ideally like to take up (May or July 2018 or March 2019)

·      Information on any barriers you have faced, past or present, to achieving your creative aspirations - gaps in your CV will not affect your application

·      Because at least one of the residencies will be reserved only for a disabled artist, please make clear in your application whether you are responding to either or both of these criteria.

If you would like assistance with your application or you have questions about our criteria please contact us. We are happy to receive applications in alternative formats. If you would like to submit in another format please conact us via Curatorspace.

Accessibility:

We aim to present a high quality programme whose selection actively considers if equality of opportunity and access impacts on an artists’ development. We actively encourage all artists to apply and if any aspect of our application process is unsuitable then please contact us directly. Equally where any aspect of our programme is unsuitable please indicate this in the proposal. We will develop an alternative with you, should you be selected. Past adjustments have included artists’ not being in residence but at a distance and a support technician providing assistance to make work.

We also welcome applications from artists who are seeking to adapt their practice or return to making work after a period away, including to care for others. We are happy to discuss any additional queries e.g. where payment of expenses may cause difficulty with benefits or support workers need to be employed for longer hours that normal.

The Art House is based in Wakefield and is a uniquely accessible facility for exhibitions, studios, workshops and residencies. We are happy to also accommodate support workers or helpers where necessary. Further information is available on our website. www.the-arthouse.org.uk.