Call for Proposals for Digital Artist’s Residency at Arc,
Stockton-on-Tees, UK
May 1999 to April 2000
bursary £11,100 (fee)
timescale May 99 - April 00, equivalent to 3 days per week
deadline Friday 9 April
interview date Monday 19 April
requirements production of new sound-based work to be
presented at Arc (and other partner venues);
running professional training activities
provisions materials / equipment budget, marketing and
admin support, use of Arc Digital Studio
Please send proposals, including CV and documentation of previous works
(videos to be VHS PAL) to:
Frank Wilson
Arc
Dovecot Street
Stockton-on-Tees
TS18 1LL
England
or e-mail to [log in to unmask]
(NOTE TO ORGANISATIONS: PLEASE DISPLAY / FORWARD TO ANY ARTISTS WHO MAY
WISH TO APPLY)
Apologies for any inappropriate or cross-posting
Introduction
An important component of the new Arc centre in Stockton-on-Tees is the
priority given to the use of digital technologies in the production,
presentation and documentation of the work shown in the building.
Digital facilities at Arc include a Digital Studio - a production suite
equipped for digital video, sound and multimedia - and an infrastructure
of cable networks throughout the public spaces to enable the screening
and recording of work in the most flexible ways. These facilities
enable Arc to fully integrate digital technologies into its artistic
programme, enhancing the range, quality and imagination with which its
broad programme can be delivered. This programme embraces film and
video, music, theatre, dance, comedy and club nights, as well as
artists’ work in new media. Whilst the centre does not contain a
gallery, its three performance spaces, cinema, foyers and ISDN on-line
connection offer an exciting combination of possibilities and contexts
for producing and presenting work in new media that challenge,
compliment and recombine these established art forms and that open up
the programme to new audiences.
In order to begin develop the practice of, and audiences for new media
work in Stockton and its surrounding area, Arc is embarking upon a three
year programme of 12 month long artists’ residencies, funded by Northern
Arts. Each artist will be involved in producing and presenting their
own work and in running training activities, and each residency will
address different fields of practice. This initiative is key to Arc
achieving its aims in respect of audience development, artistic
development and raising its own profile as a major producer and
presenter of work in the digital domain.
Aims of the Project
· to fully integrate new media within the programme of Arc
Arc is a centre for production, presentation and education in a range of
art forms, encompassing performing arts, film, video and new media. The
venue is designed such that there is flexibility about the ways in which
work is presented to its audience, and this will be particularly true in
the presentation of digital work. A network of video, data and audio
cables throughout the public spaces enables the showing of work as
screenings in the cinema, on monitors in the foyers, within other events
such as club nights, performances and conferences in the Theatre, the
Point (music / cabaret / club space) and as installations in the Studio,
through the Internet or via video conferencing.
Given the bias towards performance and cinema within the venue’s
facility, the digital artists’ residencies, and the digital programme as
a whole, will reflect collaborative and inter-disciplinary practices,
rather than purely gallery-focused work.
· Audience development
The engagement of new audiences for work in the digital media is a
priority for the residency programme. This will be achieved by
tailoring specific marketing initiatives to target audiences appropriate
to each project, as well as targeting the existing attenders for other
art forms. Additionally, community training and participation of local
groups in projects may form part of each artist’s residency to enhance
and expand Arc’s existing educational work in other fields.
· Video documentation of performance work
Arc’s digital production facilities will be made available to incoming
performing arts companies to enable them to produce high quality
documentation of their work. Where possible and appropriate, Arc hopes
to encourage collaboration between these companies and the digital
artist in residence to explore creative and innovative means of
documentation for use by the company, the artist and by Arc. In
addition, whilst relatively few companies may choose to make use of this
facility, Arc will document much of the activity of the building, and
the artist in residence will be given opportunities to be involved in
this process.
· Supporting the development of artists at international, national and
local levels
The residencies provide development opportunities both for the resident
artists, and for a wider regional and national constituency of
practitioners through skills-based training, collaborations,
opportunities for commissions and presentations of work. Each residency
involves partnerships with other venues and producers and this allows
for the distribution of the resulting art work nationally and
internationally. In addition, Arc will offer its own administrative,
marketing and networking resources to support wider dissemination of the
work.
· To establish Arc within the national and international network of
major producers, presenters and development agencies for electronic
media art works.
The residencies will enable Arc to engage, from the outset, with
established artists, and with other producing organisations in the new
media field. Over the three years of the programme, opportunities will
arise to collaborate closely with, and learn from, a range of key
partners, and to build for Arc a reputation as a well resourced,
innovative and valuable addition to the sector.
The Programme
The three one-year residencies will run as follows:
1. May 1999 - April 2000 Volume sound-based work
2. May 2000 - April 2001 Telepresence work using communication
technologies such as the web or
video conferencing
3. May 2001 - April 2002 Lumenosity video-based residency
These residencies are targeted at artists who have some experience and
level of national recognition, but who would also benefit from the
access to technical and administrative resources to further develop
their practice. The residencies will be best delivered by artists with
the confidence, flexibility, sensitivity and resourcefulness to work
collaboratively with others, to offer support and training, to manage
their own creative work and to work within a busy institution with
multiple priorities and opportunities.
Each resident artist will be selected from applications, and each will
present an existing work early in the residency. Towards the end of the
residency Arc will present the work made by the artist at the centre.
The artist each year will also be required to deliver some training
activities, aimed at professional artists. Training targeted at local
communities, either be run as courses or integrated into the production
of the artist’s own project, would be welcomed though are not required.
The details of these activities will be agreed each artist at the time
of appointment, in response to their own proposals for the residency.
For further background information, please see the Educational
Activities section.
Details
Each residency will offer its artist:
1. a bursary of £11,100. This is equivalent to a fee of £18,500 per
annum, pro rata for 3 days per week.
2. access to facilities and studio time for the creation of the artist’s
own work (both for Arc and for other venues) - see below.
3. a presentation of the artist’s existing work at the beginning of the
residency and
4. a presentation of the resulting work towards the end of the residency
5. other developmental opportunities to be involved in curating
programmes of work and documenting performances, depending upon the
artist
6. support from Arc in the production of projects (advice, assisting
with regional contacts, fund-raising, use of Arc spaces and office
facilities) and marketing of projects (advice, contacts, networking,
production of print if projects are linked to Arc programme)
7. formal support structure for the artist within the organisation.
The resident artist will be commit the equivalent of 3 days per week to
working at Arc, divided between:
1. training and other activities (e.g. documentation) for Arc
(approximately 72 days in total)
2. their work on their own production and presentations (approximately
72 days in total)
The organisation of this time is flexible across the 12 months of the
project.
Facilities
The technical facilities in the Digital Studio are outlined below. This
list does not include the sound and lighting equipment installed in the
performance spaces and in the recording studio, which may also be used
if required and available.
There is an Avid Media Express video editing system (AVR 77 standard
with 36Gb storage), two G3 Apple Macs designated for design with 194 and
96 Mb of memory, one G3 video machine with 196 Mb of memory and AV hard
drive, and one G3 Internet machine with 96 Mb of memory and ISDN card.
The design software includes Photoshop, Illustrator, Infini-D, Premier,
After effects and Cyber studio. Sound software is Cubase VST 24. All
the machines are on an Ether network and have an ISDN link to the
internet.
The studio also houses three Sony DV cameras, a DV mastering deck, an
SVHS machine, sound mixing desk, scanner and colour laser printer.
Support Structure for the Artist
The resident artist will be supervised and supported by Michelle Plews,
Arc’s Local Arts Officer. In addition, the artist will be able to call
upon the venue’s technical team for assistance, and Arc will take
responsibility for the overall project management of and fund-raising
for the residency. In addition, at the beginning of the residency, a
schedule of quarterly review and planning meetings involving the artist,
senior Arc staff and members of the selection panel (Northern Arts and
co-producers) will be agreed. This forum will enable the artist to
discuss any problems or concerns in a formal setting, and will allow
Arc, the co-producers and funders to assess progress.
Arc - Facilities
Opened in January 1999, Arc is the Lottery funded redevelopment of the
former Dovecot Arts Centre, and as such is Teeside’s first new arts
building for 30 years.
Across its four floors Arc contains:
· a 130 seat cinema
· a 275 seat theatre
· a 100 seat studio theatre
· a 600 capacity music / club space (The Point)
· a dance studio and health club
· a recording studio
· a rehearsal room
· the Digital Studio
· cafe-bars on 3 floors
As well as programming these spaces, Arc also runs the Stockton
International Riverside Festival each summer, Britain’s leading festival
for international visual and street theatre.
Arc - Educational Activities
Arc has a long established education policy, which combined community
access to arts with professional led work.
Arc has active performance based education and training for young people
and children aged from 7 to 18 years, covering drama, movement and
singing . It runs extensive dance classes for children and adults, and
hosts a very active adult performance group. Arc also hosts North East
New Music and Windjammer, two very different music based groups. Arc’s
youth theatre does a great deal of peer education work with outside
agencies such as the health service and tackles some controversial
topics like teenage pregnancy and eating disorders.
Arc has a close association with the local college of further education
with whom it promotes a number of adult courses. One of these is a new
digital video course for part time students wanting to develop more
professional video skills. These students document some of Arc’s live
events and will feed into and support the new Community TV Pilot
training scheme.
This scheme is funded by the EU, Stockton Borough Council, Sony TV and
Video and McMillan UK and will encourage young unemployed to develop TV
skills. Working 2 days a week the training scheme will initially cover
equipment familiarisation and TV format and production styles. After 4 –
5 months training the students will then be expected to deliver a 30
minute programme weekly to be aired on the community cable channel. The
programme will have a strong arts base and cover events taking place at
Arc and other projects initiated by Arc. Students will cover all
aspects of running a community TV channel including programme scheduling
and research. The training will be led by two tutors, one of whom will
be a full time employee of Arc and will double as technician for the
course and manager of the Digital Studio. A second tutor will be
appointed on a freelance basis as will a technician. This training
programme is scheduled to run for 18 months.
Contact
Please send proposals, including CV and documentation of previous works
to:
Frank Wilson
Arc
Dovecot Street
Stockton-on-Tees
TS18 1LL
England
Tel 44 (0)1642 666600 Fax +44 (0)1642 666668
or e-mail to [log in to unmask]
For further details please contact Michelle Plews at the above address
or David Metcalfe at the address below.
--
david metcalfe associates
PO Box 637, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE99 1JF, England
Telephone +44 (0)191 230 4646, Fax +44 (0)191 230 4545,
E-mail [log in to unmask]
http://www.fastandwide.net
DMA curated digital programme for Broadway Media Centre, Nottingham
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