Elevate Festival & Squeeze Box Artist Commission

We are inviting artists to showcase work that aligns with one or more of the following themes:

• amplifying voices of those unheard
• care and self-care
• disability as positive identity and the value of community.

We are looking for a South-West creator, who self-identifies as disabled and/or neurodiverse and/or an unpaid carer etc. and you will need to confirm this in your application.

Artists are invited to showcase artwork, a collection of paintings, poetry, photos which tell a story etc. sculptures, crafts, textiles or any creative method that can sit in space and say something. It is recommended that you have early concept work ready to exhibit, and are curious to develop that work further, responding to critical feedback and audience responses

This is an opportunity for Artists based in the South-West and able to travel to Exeter. You should be comfortable working in a shared space and used to the concept of R&D/experimentation/risk-taking. The Northcott and Squeeze Box team are passionate about empowering others and will be on hand to support with logistics and access.

Fee

£250.00 plus necessary travel expenses to support access to the venue.

Timeline

• W/c 30th Sept – Initial ‘get to know you and your practise’ zoom; a chance for you to detail what you might want to experiment with or platform with Hugh Malyon (squeezebox lead artist) and Sam Parker (Exeter Northcott’s Artist development producer)
• W/c 13th October – Elevate festival and presentation of the work in the Barnfield Bar space
• W/c 20th October – Get out, debrief and reflections

How to apply:

Applications should be max. 2 sides of A4 with text and/or images, or 4 minutes video/sound recording with examples or links to your work. We encourage applicants to cover:

• What, why and how you make?
• What is your burning idea to test and present?

Please send your application to [email protected] by 11am on the Friday 19th September.

After shortlisting, we will organise an informal chat with shortlisted artists W/c the 29nd September to help us decide who will benefit the most from this platform.

If you don’t receive a confirmation within 5 working days, please send a message on social media as we aim to reply to all applicants.