Venture Arts is calling for expressions of interest from visual artists to take part in their new project based in Manchester, Conversations Series II. 
Conversations Series II, led by Venture Arts and in partnership with Castlefield Gallery and the Whitworth, will support a collaborative residency that will bring together three learning-disabled artists who are part of the Venture Arts supported studios, to work alongside the three visual artists to be appointed. The group will develop shared ideas, create new work, and reflect on the labels placed upon us by society. This residency builds on the success of OutsiderXchanges from 2015-16.
The selected artists will spend time with the Whitworth team and the Musgrave Kinley Outsider Art Collection, having time and access to explore the collection, its ethics and its display. This collection can be used as a starting point to see what ideas and visual responses develop during the collaborative residency. Castlefield Gallery will provide the artists taking part with mentoring and crit support at key stages over the course of the residency period. Disabled artist Tanya Raabe-Webber will work with the group to ground the work within the disability arts movement.
All successful artists will receive a £3000 artist fee, plus a materials budget, and will be given access to free studio space in Hulme for five months (October 2018 – February 2019), coming together as a group for 1 day per week to share the space. The studio in Hulme will be available the rest of the time for the artists’ use. A space at the Whitworth Art Gallery will be available for the residency artists to meet in periodically throughout the project. Those taking part will be expected to develop new work during the residency period, some of which may be collaborative work.
The intention of Conversations Series II is that work resulting from the residency programme will be shared with the public across several platforms from March 2019, so we are particularly interested in hearing from artists who are keen to develop their practice and their networks, and who are willing to make tangible artwork to exhibit and tour. There is a budget available to support with the exhibition production, and extra fees available for the artists to support with exhibition installations and any associated events that will happen after the residency period.
Interview dates: Monday 17 and Tuesday 18 September 2018
Anticipated residency start date: Week commencing 1 October 2018
For further information contact Jennifer Gilbert on 0161 232 1223, or email: [email protected]
Deadline for applications: Wednesday 5 September 2018, 17:00