Far South West Emerging Art Writer Open Call

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Rame Projects is an artist-led project space on the Rame Peninsula in South-East Cornwall. Thanks to support from Arts Council England; Cultivator; The Box, Plymouth; FEAST; and Plymouth College of Art, we are able to offer an art writing opportunity to respond to our 2021 programme. Rame Projects aims to: provide opportunities for local communities to engage with contemporary art, in both its making and exhibition; engage local students and young people with contemporary art practices that are new to them; and support and platform emerging artists. 

What we can offer:

  • A fee of £750 to respond to three artist residencies at Rame Projects between May – September 2021. This can involve 3 distinct pieces or one interconnected piece of work that reflects the time spent on this. What we are not looking for is a traditional art criticism approach, rather a practitioner who uses writing as a key mode in their wider creative practice.
  • Support and feedback on work in progress from the Rame Projects directors Beth Emily Richards and Lucy Stella Rollins, and from additional artists and arts professionals. 
  • Online publication of your writing via the Rame Projects website and social media channels. 
  • Access to the three residency artists at pre-negotiated meetings.
  • Ability to work from the project space at negotiated times – in line with up to date government guidelines on health and safety in relation to Covid-19. The space is located on a Cornish cliff top, a short walk to beaches and local villages. It is 12m x 6m size, and suitable for work at most scales. There is basic AV equipment available in the space, 20 chairs, and a small kitchenette including a good coffee machine and a small office workspace and library. The studio is on the Maker Heights site, where there is an amazing cafe, The Canteen, and an inexpensive campsite; making residential work a possibility.
  • Whilst working in the rural environment is inspiring and creates a concentrated space for a residency, there are a couple of potential limitations. The WiFi is patchy and often requires tethering from your mobile data package. There are transport links if you don’t have a car, as there is a bus that runs to Maker Heights, or you can get the passenger ferry from Plymouth to Mount Edgecumbe and walk up to the studio which is approximately a 40 min lovely walk through the countryside. There is no additional budget to support transportation costs unfortunately. 

What we would like to see:

  • Applications from emerging art writers based in the far South West. We know that these terms can be tricky to define, but if you identify as an emerging art writer, that is good enough for us. Broadly though, we are looking for art writers with significant potential and drive, but who may not have published extensively or had much support from arts organisations/publications. Educational qualifications will neither add or detract from your suitability to this residency; however, if you are currently studying we would expect you to disclose this and explain how this opportunity sits outside of the support you are given by your educational institution. 
  • Applications from art writers which approach the opportunity in a surprising or innovative way. We don’t want to be too prescriptive about what this might look like, but the approach of our last year art writer in residence, Sam Machell, is a good example of this: http://rameprojects.com/sam-machell/ 
  • Applications which clearly define why this opportunity will be of use to your practice at this moment in your career. 
  • We welcome applications from neurodiverse and disabled artists, please let us know if you have any additional access needs either for application or residency. Our project space is located on the first floor of the barracks block building, with no lift. If this would be a barrier for you, please get in contact and we can discuss how we could support you. 
  • We have had several enquiries regarding applications from artist duos or larger scale collaborations. We welcome applications from collaborative groups but regret that all fees and budgets are fixed.
  • We have had several enquiries about eligibility based on location. As we originally conceived of this as an opportunity for a practitioner based in Devon or Cornwall, travelling distance to Rame Projects, we have not budgeted travel or accommodation fees for this opportunity. Practitioners across the wider South West region are welcome to apply if they are able to engage with the artists on site, and are aware that no additional travel budget is available.

To apply: 

Please send a CV, covering letter referencing the points above including what your written response to the art residencies may look like, and a sample of your art writing, along with a link to an online portfolio if appropriate (this can be an instagram, tumblr, or similar if you don’t have a website) to rameprojectscornwall@gmail.com

If you prefer to answer the points above in a video, please send a link to a video of no more than 5 minutes to rameprojectscornwall@gmail.com 

Application deadline date – 31st March 2021 Midnight

If you are unsuccessful, and sadly we can only give this opportunity to one applicant, we will endeavour to give you useful feedback where we can and link you up with any other support systems we think that could be relevant to you.