Emergence bursaries

Emergence is an exciting and much needed collaboration between Shape Arts, Disability Arts Online (DAO) and a-n The Artists Information Company. This innovative project aims to tackle the isolation, low confidence and marginalisation of emerging disabled artists, as well the lack of accessible opportunities in mainstream arts settings.

For its initial pilot phase, from January 2019, we will run an enhanced bursary programme, across a twelve-month period, specifically aimed at emerging artists, with a practice rooted in the visual arts, who face disabling barriers.

These four £1500 bursaries can be used in any way the artist feels will best support the development of their artistic practice. Specific to these bursaries, in order to help address the barriers and isolation, each artist will receive support and advice through a series of one-to-one development sessions with staff from DAO and Shape, who are specialised in supporting disabled artists and finding innovative access solutions.

Elements included in the bursary are:

• The four bursary recipients will have the opportunity to support one another through peer support/critique sessions; these may be facilitated digitally.

• Each artist has the opportunity to be supported by DAO to blog about their work for the duration of the bursary.

• Each artist will be interviewed for a profile piece.

The partners are committed to equality and diversity in employment and all aspects of its programme and operation. This opportunity is ring-fenced for disabled applicants.

Deadline for applications to be returned: Noon, Monday 19 November 2018

Interviews: 6 / 7 December 2018

Download the application form.

Download a list of frequently asked questions (Word)

Download a list of frequently asked questions (PDF)

Enquiries (including information on submitting your application in an alternative format), please contact Isabella Tulloch, Programme Coordinator at Shape Arts – applications@shapearts.org.uk or +44 (0) 207 424 7330

About the partners

Shape Arts is a disability-led organisation breaking down the barriers to creative excellence. We deliver a range of projects supporting marginalised artists, as well as training cultural venues to be more inclusive and accessible for disabled people as employees, artists and audiences. Running alongside this portfolio is the HLF funded National Disability Arts Collection and Archive (NDACA), a radical telling of the story of the golden era of the Disability Arts Movement; and Unlimited, which, largely supported by Arts Council and British Council funding, provides a platform for disabled artists to develop, produce and show ambitious and high-quality work, and which aims to transform perceptions of how the work of disabled artists is received in the mainstream art world. www.shapearts.org.uk

Disability Arts Online (DAO) is a disability-led arts organisation that occupies a unique global position with its UK-based website, social media network, commissioning and artist development programmes, showcasing opportunities, partnership work, and vibrant community of disabled creatives. We aim to achieve widespread appreciation for the richness and diversity of disability arts and culture. http://www.disabilityarts.online

a-n The Artists Information Company is the largest artists’ membership organisation in the UK with 23,000 members. We support artists and those who work with them in many practical ways, acting on behalf of our membership and the visual arts sector to improve artists’ livelihoods. www.a-n.co.uk