Open Call | We Only Want the Earth 2022 Residency Award One at A4 Sounds

WE ONLY WANT THE EARTH | RESIDENCY AWARD 1

A4 Sounds in partnership with Create the national development agency for collaborative arts and Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) invite applications from trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming artists for a six-month residency award as part of the We Only Want the Earth 2022 programme. The residency will run from May to Oct 2022. The residency opportunity aims to support an artist based in Ireland to develop their arts practice.

DEADLINE: 5PM, MONDAY 11^TH APRIL 2022

ABOUT WE ONLY WANT THE EARTH

The context for We Only Want the Earth is ongoing, unpredictable social change. The neoliberal order and the unipolar system of US hegemony are collapsing. Climate change is accelerating, and alongside it eco-fascism and “lifeboat ethics” are growing in Europe and elsewhere. The Covid-19 pandemic has worsened the crises of inequality and homelessness. We are living through Gramsci’s interregnum: the old world is dying and the new world struggles to be born. New opportunities for radical social change present themselves, but they are accompanied by reactionary violence that seeks to return to an imagined idyllic past. In this context, deliberative and discursive arts practices are urgently needed.

We Only Want the Earth is a yearly programme of awards, exhibitions, and events that seeks to interrogate the goals and strategies of social change: what kind of society do we want and how should we get there?

More information about our programme here.

ABOUT THE AWARD

A central aim of the We Only Want the Earth programme is to give material support and a platform to artists who are often ignored, or who are spoken about rather than listened to. As part of meeting this aim, this 6-month residency award will support a trans, nonbinary, and/or gender nonconforming artist to develop and exhibit a body of work, and will provide the selected artist with an opportunity to make contacts and identify resources that might help them to further develop their artistic practice.

Please note that the artist is free to work on any topic of their choosing; there is no requirement that the work deal with issues of gender identity.

Proposals respond to the theme ‘We Only Want the Earth’.

WHAT THE AWARD INVOLVES

The award includes

• Free 24-hour access to studio space at A4 Sounds.
• A monthly stipend of €1,500 towards materials and residency costs (Total €9,000).
• Artist fees of €700 for exhibiting a body of work and artist talks
• A dedicated website for outcomes and digital dissemination*
• Access to a range of professional development, training and technical supports.
• Access to the facilities at A4 Sounds, including personal and shared workspace, sculpture workshop, photography darkroom, printing suite and equipment.
• Gallery space and a materials/exhibition budget of up to €2000 will be provided to support an exhibition or series of dissemination events during the last month of the residency.
• Access to all A4 Sounds public workshops and courses for the duration of the residency.

Throughout the residency, advice and mentorship will be provided by A4 Sounds technicians and curators, a dedicated community engagement worker, and representatives from Create (the national development agency for collaborative arts), Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) and our consulting artists gender.RIP & Áine O’Hara.

Please note: this residency does not include accommodation as part of the award.

AIMS & EXPECTATIONS OF THE RESIDENCY

The selected artist is expected to

• Be available to work from the studio for the duration of the residency.
• Participate in studio life and take full advantage of resources and learning opportunities available.
• To disseminate their work as a solo exhibition at the A4 Sounds Gallery.*
• We will work with the successful artist to document their progress and ask that aspects of the documentation be made available to A4 for use.

*A solo exhibition here is meant in a broad sense and can also include work off site, a series of talks, a publication, performances and so on.

Please note: this residency carries a significant workload for the successful applicant and will require a full-time commitment. We have included a schedule template with our application form to help you map your time and to ensure what you are proposing is feasible and manageable for you.

However, we do understand you may have additional work commitments to support your living costs. If you do, please keep these in mind when writing your proposal, and describe how you will balance those commitments and your studio time.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

We invite applications from artists who are trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming, who are currently based in the Greater Dublin area.

Due to the significant workload of the residency, artists who are currently in full-time undergraduate or post-graduate education cannot apply.

Please note: Due to the high rental costs and difficulty securing accommodation in Dublin this award may be best suited to someone who currently lives in Dublin, Wicklow, Kildare, Meath or Louth. We welcome applications from outside these areas but please let us know on your application form how you will manage your accommodation and/or travel to Dublin.

WHAT WHAT TYPES OF PROPOSALS ARE WE SEEKING?

We invite radical, risk taking, bold, mischievous and political proposals. This is a visual arts award, but we welcome proposals from artists with multidisciplinary approaches where the proposed outcomes can be disseminated in a visual ways.

We are keen to hear from artists who use a wide range of approaches to explore their ideas; including but not limited to: socially engaged, collaboration with communities, collaboration with artists, protest, organizing, writing, sound, conversation, food, performance, video, media, sculpture, research, installation and print.

ACCESSIBILITY

Unfortunately, the A4 Sounds studio building is not fully accessible. The studio space and bathrooms are accessed via a flight of stairs (approx. 22 steps) which may provide difficulties for people with movement impairments. We understand that this may exclude some artists from applying for the award, and we apologise for this. We hope to source funding to make the building more accessible in future.

The studio itself is private but shared with two other artists. It has LED lighting, a comfortable chair and is generally quiet, but at times there may be loud sounds leaking through the building from our workshop. Members of staff will be available on weekdays to offer in person support. If you have specific accessibility needs and are concerned about the suitability of the award, please get in touch with us via residency@a4sounds.org and we will be happy to discuss with you.

TO APPLY PLEASE:

1. Read in full about our programme here.
2. Complete the application form here.

For further information about WOWTE and the award please visit our website.