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We’re opening the fourth call for artists to apply for a Platform residency supported by the Freelands Artist Programme.

‘What is it?’

Each year, five artists from the region are selected to join the programme for two years. Each will receive over £20,000 worth of investment including a fee, specialist support, professional development and opportunities to exhibit.

This cohort of artists will begin in January 2022.

The programme is delivered by Site Gallery in partnership with Bloc Projects, S1 Artspace, Museums Sheffield and Yorkshire Artspace.

Find out about the three previous cohorts and other information about the programme here. 

Each selected artist will participate for a two-year period, receiving £20,000 worth of investment, which includes a fee. Site Gallery’s past residencies have supported many artists to go on to national and international success. Artists have credited the experience as a critical moment in their careers with many gaining important opportunities following their residency. Many have used the initial work to fuel several years of artistic development.

Site Gallery is an actively anti-racist organisation and through all of our opportunities look to amplify the voices of those who are marginalised and underrepresented. We are actively seeking applications from Black artists, artists of colour, LGBTQIA+ artists and disabled artists.

‘What can I expect?’

  • £5,000 fee per year for two years
  • A production budget for a work-in-progress exhibition at Site or one of our partner venues, Yorkshire Artspace and Bloc Projects.
  • An opportunity to be part of a show curated at the Freelands Foundation in London
  • Support from writers and photographers to document your work and processes
  • Support and budget to develop public programming
  • A bespoke summer school at S1 Artspace
  • Mentorship from arts professionals in the city
  • An annual conference, research trip and networking opportunities

‘Am I eligible?’

You are if you:

  • Have studio space or practice based in the Sheffield City Region – Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley and Doncaster.
  • Live and work in the UK.
  • By January 2022, have had a minimum of three years demonstrated practice since your career as an artist began. If you attended university you must have three years practice since graduating.
  • Are able to commit time to the programme between January 2022 and winter 2023, please see below for further details on time commitments.
  • Please note – there is no upper age limit and artists can be of any nationality.

Time commitments: 

We meet for 1.5 hours every two weeks for discussions and workshops, with breaks for holidays, and you will need to dedicate time for developing and making work for the interim exhibitions. In addition, there will be monthly talks from the Freelands Foundation, a yearly symposium of around 3-4 days to attend and ad hoc meetings with relevant curators, partners and Site staff. We aim to have most scheduled activity Mondays to Fridays and will work with you to find the best times. Currently, we have a blended programme of online and in-person activity, which we review in line with government guidelines and Site Gallery’s own operational policy. 

Criteria/ things were are looking for: 

We do not have a fixed criteria, but some of the things we consider when assessing applications are: artistic skill and ability, uniqueness and individuality of work, how much the artist and/or their work will benefit from being part of this programme and contribute positively to a group dynamic, critical engagement, and representing a variety of practices and approaches. 

Each year we welcome external judges. If you have applied in the past, we encourage you to apply again.

‘When is the deadline for proposals and are there other key dates?’

Monday, 6 September 2021 at 11.59pm.
Artists will be shortlisted by the selection panel on Monday 20 September 2021.
The five selected artists will be announced by Monday 4 October 2021.

These dates are subject to change based on the changeability of the restrictions. 

‘Who is on the selection panel?’

Angelica Sule, Robyn Haddon and Peter Martin from Site Gallery will be representing the Project Partners. External guests will be artist Sian Fan; artist, curator and researcher Yuen Fong Ling; and Harriet Cooper, Head of Visual Arts at Jerwood Arts.

‘Who can I get in touch with to find out more?’

You can email Producer Robyn Haddon at any time. We will host a Q+A on Zoom on Monday 9 August, 5pm-6pm. Book your place here

‘I want to apply or I know someone who should, what’s next?’

Please fill in our application form. If you have any difficulties with the form, or you want to respond in an alternative way, we can support you to do this with a word doc, video applications, phone or video calls, or other options that work better for you. Please get in touch if you would like to make your application in a different way and we will do our best to support you. 

Additionally, if you have any access requirements that you would like to discuss before applying, please contact us. We set aside a budget and time to support individual access requirements, just let us know how we can help.

Download a pdf copy of this text here.
Download a large text pdf copy of this text here.

This programme is funded by the Freelands Foundation through the Freelands Artists Programme.

Image: Jules Lister

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