Makenzie Ferrier with a parrot on his shoulder outside the Liberal Club where he has his shop Nature Nook CIC. Photo credit Emily Appleton. SW Theatre Photo.
Wide Open is pleased to announce MAKING SPACE, a new residency programme in Torbay, South Devon providing space and time for artists to develop their creative practice with tailored producer support. This May we are hosting a residency for a locally based artist; further residencies open to artists nationally that occupy different spaces in Paignton will begin from June 2024.
What is Making Space?
MAKING SPACE is a new rolling, monthly residency programme for artists at any stage of their career. The programme supports and develops artistic practice across diverse art forms including and not limited to: live performance/arts, film / photography, digital media, visual arts and combined arts. Artists or arts collectives will be given space-based creation time to develop work or new ways of working. There are no fees or monetary payments with this residency offer. A small bursary can be applied for to assist with access costs where the residency would not be possible without it. For the May residency, applications from artists who live or work in Torbay and South Devon are preferred, with applications from wider Devon accepted.
Producer and mentoring support
Making Space can offer tailored producer and mentoring support from the Filament team or within our network of local artists, producers, cultural, community and enterprise organisations. This could be to develop your practice, for guidance with funding or producer support to try out public facing activities such as workshops, developing networks or public events and sharings as part of our high-profile CDF funded programme.
Where?
The residency will be at The Liberal Club in Paignton town centre. The chosen artist(s) will have access to a unique empty shop space inside one of Paignton’s heritage buildings. The Liberal Club is the downstairs, end curved section of the building at the junction of Dartmouth Road and Totnes Road in central Paignton near the High Street. It is a shop space with windows on three sides that the public can see into, in fact, we want people to see vibrant activity going on inside. There is no obligation for the residency to engage with the public but you will be visible through the windows. The windows offer a creative opportunity but there’s not an expectation that you use them. The Liberal Club is connected to, but separate from, the Nature Nook CIC ethical pet shop run by Makenzie Ferrier who we are working with to animate the space.
There are 2 entrances - 1 through Nature Nook (stepped), and 1 directly into the space (accessible, no steps). There is no accessible toilet in this venue and there are a number of public options close by. There is a toilet and small kitchen upstairs, there is no running water within the residency space. Drop off parking is available outside with car parks close by. Contact us if you would like further details on the space and surrounding area.
Size
The main space is a rounded triangular shape 1.5-3m wide x 3.5m long. Every side has large, rounded windows. The usable space adjoining the shop is approx 2 m long x 1.5m wide. This space has a large, rectangular window. Street View
How long is the residency?
The total residency period is up to 8 days between the 13th - 31st May. On application we will ask you to tell us how many days you would like and your preferred pattern of working, eg: consecutive days/ set days over a month / 4 days one week and 4 days the next. This can be refined in conversation with us.
Themes
The invitation for May at the Liberal Club is ‘The Natural World’. We are interested in work that creatively responds to the biodiversity of the Paignton area and explores that which is more than human. This could be in relation to the parks, gardens and civic spaces, community places, connected to the sea, or inside homes and buildings for example.
What you have access to
Up to 8 days sole use of the space
Up to 2 days tailored producer support
Up to 4 hours mentoring
Publicity through our Wide Open Paignton social media channels
The residency offers an opportunity to develop funding applications, or form part of an application. Filament can offer guidance to develop an application and in kind support where appropriate.
There are no fees or monetary payments with this residency offer. A small bursary can be applied for to assist with access costs where the residency would not be possible without it.
What you give
Artists are expected to share a minimum of 1 public facing activity: a small scale workshop, work-in-progress sharing, exhibition, talk or social event for example for up to 15 people. This could be a light touch try out, or the culmination of more developed work.
Professional standard reflective documentation that Filament can share, eg: a blog style piece of writing, or moving image piece.
Artists will be responsible for their own travel, food, accommodation (we can help with recommendations) as well as any fees for themselves or their collaborators.
Artists provide their own materials and equipment.
Artists liaise with Filament’s communications team ahead of any public sharing of the residency (e.g. via artist websites, social media etc) to ensure correct crediting and information.
Filament CIC is commissioning the residency, they are a creative producing house that grew out of Torbay’s Great Place Scheme. At the heart of what they do is supporting the process of producers and artists, giving them the opportunity and time and space to grow. The artists we work with have gone on to make and share exceptional work that opens up perspectives about people and place. www.filament.org.uk
Filament is leading on the Creative & Cultural Programme strand of Torbay’s Community Development Funded (CDF) restoration of the Paignton Picture House 2023-25 (funded by the department for culture, media and sport, administered by Arts Council England).This is an ambitious programme working with diverse partners across culture, community and enterprise to animate and grow pride of place in Paignton town centre. The Making Space residency programme will support the objectives of the CDF fund through providing opportunities for artists to develop skills and encouraging engagement with local communities through meaningful creative and cultural experiences accessible on our high streets and in the public realm.
What we’re looking for
We want to give artists at any stage of their career the opportunity to develop their practice and know that time, space and support can go a long way to doing that. The residency is open to artists from all artforms who can make the most of engaging with the public in a coastal town centre or develop work privately within a shop space environment, for example. Artists will need to demonstrate the benefit of taking a residency in the Liberal Club, Paignton and identify the development opportunities within this residency offer. We are keen to address local issues of access, diversity and inclusion and will prioritise applications from underrepresented artists in our region.
How To Apply
The APPLY button below will take you through to the application form. If you would like to please email up to 3 examples of work that demonstrate your practice up to 5MB. This is not expected, but we recognise that you may wish to. Alternatively, you can send a film up to 3 minutes long, or a PDF answering the questions on the form and, if you wish to, up to 3 examples of your work on no more than 5 x A4 pages. There is no interview process.
Deadline for submissions
Midnight on 10th April 2024
Decisions by
18th April 2024
Further information
Please contact Sara Hurley at sara@filament.org.uk
MAKING SPACE is part of Wide Open, a new creative and cultural programme in Paignton, Torbay. Part of Torbay’s Cultural Development – Paignton Picture House, a collaboration between Torbay Council, Paignton Picture House Trust, South Devon College, Torbay Culture and the Agatha Christie Festival Limited. Supported by the Cultural Development Fund, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) fund administered by Arts Council England.