EDITORIAL
Happy New Year
We hope you had a peaceful and restful festive break despite the restrictions that are in place. As we look to this coming year with a sense of hope, our Editorial this month is focused on opportunities for artists.
We’re kicking off 2021 with an exciting announcement. After much deliberation we’ve selected the artists who will be undertaking our Digital Residencies during the first half of this year.
Kim Coleman and Jenny Hogarth will use the residency to develop a new work in response to ‘If You Can’t See My Mirrors I Can’t See You’, their co-authored single-channel video commissioned by Serpentine Cinema (CINACT) made in 2010.
Our second recipient Jaron Hill will use the residency to explore issues around identity through digital portraiture.
Each artist/collaboration will receive £1,500, a bespoke package of support, critical engagement from a writer, use of our digital platforms, as well as opportunities to engage with our content and members.
We’re also pleased to announce four micro-commissions which we’re funding out of the residency applications. Each artist/collaboration will receive £500 to realise their project in an adapted form.
Kiara Mohamed and Niloo Sharifi will be using bots and SMS technology to foster connections and hope in a time of social distancing.
Moa Johansson and An*dre Neely will be exploring how collaboration can be achieved from working in two different cities (London and Berlin) through open-source software.
Ro Hardaker will be researching forms of protest that involve sound which will lead to the creation of a socially distanced sound work.
Sam Williams will be developing a digital work titled ‘A Soft Landing’ - a digital garden space in which to share, learn, contribute and care for others.
We’re starting the new year by offering two paid opportunities for our Social Art Library project.
In 2018, we launched the first edition of Social Works? Open, a journal dedicated to social practice art, as part of our action research ‘Models of Validation’ (with Manchester Metropolitan University, 2018-20) which showed that the field of socially-engaged practice lacks a platform for critical dialogue.
In 2021, we will publish the long-awaited second issue of the journal, which will be distributed in both print and digital formats. We will be commissioning five texts of no more than 2000 words and five short texts of no more than 600 words. We will also commission two word-image contributions (e.g. comic strip, ‘zine, photo essay).
Proposals are invited from anyone involved in social practice art, including (but not limited to) artists, participants, producers, commissioners and researchers.
Commissions will be remunerated as follows:
Long text = £500
Shorter text = £120
Word-image commission = £500
The deadline is midnight, 18 January 2021
For our second opportunity we’re inviting expressions of interest for Storytelling for Artists, a series of three workshops / masterclasses with writer and performer, Debs Newbold.
The ‘Storytelling for Artists’ programme has been created to help artists develop their narrative-making towards creating submissions to the Social Art Library.
The proposed programme is as follows:
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Workshop 1: ‘Introduction to narrative-making’ [open to all]
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Workshop 2 + 3: ‘Tell your story’ masterclass to develop your own stories [places limited to those awarded one of our bursaries]
Those accepted into the masterclasses will also receive a £100 bursary to assist with creating a submission to the Library.
The deadline is midday, 1 February 2021
Axis are looking to commission a Digital Evaluator to support evaluation of the Social ARTery our new interactive online exchange platform to facilitate remote collaboration and creative making. Conceived in response to the growth of community-centred art making and the current need for better digital solutions to support participatory work as a result of Covid-19, the platform aims to become an alternative to mainstream social media sites, to create and present participatory art innovatively, run workshops, host peer-to-peer meetups and archive the learnings for the benefit of the wider artistic community.
We understand that students can feel overwhelmed and even underprepared for life after University, with whatever direction they decide to take. In response to this we’ve developed PRAXIS: a tailored programme of talks, mentoring and advice delivered online that focuses on supporting their journey as graduates.
Our Opportunity Finder membership has been designed to save artists time so they can concentrate on the creative side of their practice. You can search our Opportunities listing by type, location and whether it's paid or not. You can also set preferences and get tailored results directly to your inbox. Membership starts at just £1.75 per month.
Are you a commissioner looking for visual artists to fulfil your brief? Do you run a residency programme you wish to promote? Do you have a job to advertise? You can upload your opportunity for FREE to our website which can be accessed by our artist members. There are also paid promotional options as well.
CONTENT
OPPORTUNITY
Social Works? Open - call for writers
Social Art Library - an Axis project - is delighted to announce 12 new art writing bursaries for Spring 2021.
OPPORTUNITY
Social Art Library - an Axis project - is excited to invite expressions of interest in ‘Storytelling for Artists’, a series of three workshops / masterclasses with writer and performer, Debs Newbold.
OPPORTUNITY
We are looking to commission a Digital Evaluator to support evaluation of the Social ARTery
FEATURE
Episode 2 from Quilla Constance
RESOURCE
Professional development for recent graduates
SUPPORT
Network Associate membership increase in cover
The PPL insurance cover that comes with our Network Associate membership has been inceased to £10 million.
FEATURE
New Art Highlights of the week includes: Stephen Anthony Davids, Alex Hetherington, James Steventon and Jeremy Turner.
PODCAST
Live Out Loud - Conversations with Artists
A collection of conversations with artists and creative practioners about specific topics. Published every week on our website, SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple, Google and Stitcher.
RESOURCES
We've created a list of links to resources and advice for artists and freelancers during the coronavirus pandemic.