Future High Streets Open Call for Artists:
Knowle West Media Centre are looking to commission an artist from the BIPOC global majority to join a community of change makers, spend time in and with Knowle West and bring your unique practice to co-create artwork in response to Future High Streets.
This residency will focus on activating local High Streets, opening possibilities for imagined, alternative futures.
Application deadline: Weds 20th March, Midnight.
Please apply by completing this short online form: https://forms.office.com/e/HnEnaZUuDH
Context:
Knowle West Media Centre (KWMC) are a place-based arts and community tech organisation who have been working in Knowle West, Bristol, for 26+ years with artists and the local community. KWMC has two sites in Knowle West, including a maker space (KWMC: The Factory) with a variety of digital fabrication kit and a studio hub with postproduction, music recording and other creative tech facilities. Our mission is to ‘Make a more thriving neighbourhood together, with arts, tech and care’, we do this by working as part of a strong neighbourhood ecology, bringing our practices of co-design to the Knowle West Alliance (a consortium of local organisations). We believe in the transformative potential that arts practices bring to imagining and co-creating preferable futures.
Knowle West is a 100-year-old council-built estate and close-knit neighbourhood, of about 12,000 residents, the area is rich in heritage and culture, but in the top 5% of England’s most deprived areas. In 2023, Filwood Broadway was awarded investment of £14.5 million from the Levelling Up Fund which will be used to transform Filwood Broadway High Street including amending the road layout to create more space for people, revamping Filwood Community Centre, expanding play opportunities for young people, and building new homes. This project runs parallel to the LUF project.
Residency:
This residency is an invitation to make artwork in and with the community of Knowle West that creates tangible glimpses of possible futures, in response to Future High Streets.
The residency will also tie into DIASPORA! Festival, a city-wide festival in May, run by Diverse Artists Network, with a public facing event (could be a drop in workshop) on Monday 6th May 2024.
Within the residency, you might want to explore questions such as:
Who is this for?
We are looking for artists / creatives from the global majority who work in socially engaged or participatory ways and want to explore, experiment and make artwork in and with the local community of Knowle West.
We invite you to bring your fresh perspective, skills and knowledge to learn from and work with the local community.
We are looking for artists who have:
We are particularly excited to work with artists who have an experimental attitude towards community tech or a desire to expand their practice to include technologies (this could include anything from digital fabrication to physical computing).
We will consider proposals from artists / creatives working in any medium where the above applies. For example, you might be a digital, performance, visual, sound, socially engaged or graphic artist, social architect, creative technologist, maker or other creative.
We have an access-budget to support this residency and producers trained in supporting the creation of flexible work plans to meet your needs.
Timeline:
20th March: Application deadline.
28th March: All applicants informed of invite to interview.
2nd / 3rd / 4th April. Interviews and artist appointed.
W/C 15th April. Residency begins.
April. Exploring the neighbourhood. Familiarising yourself with the area. Developing ideas around how you’d like to work in the community – could be with a focused group / drop-in activities / other.
Monday 6th May: Public facing event (content tbc with appointed artist) as part of DIASPORA! Festival.
May, June, early July: Play, test and make with the community.
July: Sharing. Outcomes and learning from the residency will be shared with the local community and other key stakeholders in July 2024 at this year’s Knowle West Fest (date tbc).
Fees and Support
KWMC can offer producer and engagement support, desk space, large format printing, access to digital tech (including 360 cameras, audio recording kit, film cameras, recording studio and more) digital fabrication at the KWMC: Factory maker space (digital fabrication kit includes: 3D printer, laser cutter, CNC machine, digital embroidery and more) and community tech infrastructure (including an R&D network, LoRaWAN, cloud platforms, sensor technologies) as part of the commission.
We support flexible working practices and KWMC producers will support you throughout to work in a way that works best for you.
How to apply: Please apply here: https://forms.office.com/e/HnEnaZUuDH
If you have any access needs that require you to submit in another format, please get in touch so we can help you find a suitable option. All applications will be assessed according to the same criteria and submitting in a different format will not affect your chances of being selected.
If you would like any further information or have any questions, please contact jasmine.loveys@kwmc.org.uk or call 0117 903 0444 / 07561 036175.
