Happy Opportunity Tuesday!
30 January 2024
Hi team
I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling very strange. Somehow we’re expected to deliver business as usual, while everything is falling apart. Horrible, desperate, devastating things are happening to our friends and neighbours across the globe, and on our doorstep folk can’t heat their homes or access medical care.
I don’t have any answers, but I guess I just wanted to say take care, and solidarity. Many of us are trying to work to make things better, in whatever ways we can right now. Be that through art, community work, bringing people together, advocating, protesting, or something else. That stuff can feel so small when things are like they are. But it isn’t small. It’s massive. Don’t give up.
Big love x
Happy Opportunity Tuesday!
Every Tuesday I share 10 #artsopps, commissions, residencies, open calls and applications closing soon.
Always PAID (or free/cheap for training) and for a range of artists: emerging to mid-career, from 16 to 80+.
Here are this week’s…
For performance artists and theatre-makers:
ARC in Stockton want to support artists to create new work by responding to things that are on the minds of local communities. Through the Make New Work Fund, you can apply for £10,000 to create a finished piece of work, or £2,000 to explore something new and deliver a public sharing. As well as cash support, you’ll also get rehearsal space, accommodation, and support with marketing, tech, producing and community engagement. You don’t need to live in Stockton to apply, this opportunity is open to everyone!
DEADLINE: 13 FEB
For writers:
November Club are looking for a writer to help them tell the story of Otterburn Mill, the textile trade in Northumberland and its global impact, for an immersive theatrical celebration. The fee is £7,250.
DEADLINE: 15 FEB
For artists who love fungi (!):
Apply for a Massee Arts Grant from the British Mycological Society to use art to encourage all sectors of society to engage in and learn about fungi! Project grants of up to £5,000 available.
DEADLINE: 28 FEB
For composers:
The Sheffield Chorale are inviting composers to contribute new work to be sung by a mixed voice choir. Prizes of £1,000 or £500 available, plus tickets to the premier performance in Sheffield.
DEADLINE: 31 JAN
For artists in the first 10 years of their practice:
Apply to join the New Artist Collective, hosted in Derby (though you can be based anywhere to apply). You’ll take part in professional development, networking, and practice development - including some guided commissions and a symposium. £1,000 bursary plus accommodation, travel, food, mentoring, marketing support and opportunities for other paid work.
DEADLINE: 18 FEB
For visually impaired or blind directors or dramaturgs:
The brilliant ZooCo are recruiting for their new R&D called Memories of the Marshland. The piece will feature creative audio description and access. £1500 fee.
DEADLINE: 5 FEB
For artists or collectives:
Apply for up to £1,000 seed funding to present your project as part of Totally Thames Festival. Projects should be connected to the River Thames, waterways, or sustainability.
DEADLINE: 15 MAR
For artists making work for young audiences:
Two exciting opportunities with Theatre Hullabaloo! They are commissioning an outdoor crawl-through play experience for babies and toddlers (£10,000 commission) and commissioning a new performance piece from an artist who identifies as part of the Global Majority and/or D/deaf or disabled (£7,000 commission).
DEADLINE: 19 FEB
For producers with experience working in diverse community contexts:
Exciting opportunity to collaborate with Border Crossings to project manage ‘The Mouth of the Gods’, an arts and heritage project created in collaboration with London’s Latin American communities. The outcome will be an opera at Hoxton Hall. £16,800 fee.
Find out more and sign up here
DEADLINE: 12 FEB
For writers not currently represented by an agent:
The Bush Theatre’s submissions window is now open for playwrights! Plays must be full length (60+ minutes) and not already produced elsewhere. The Bush will meet with at least 30 writers to discuss their work, and will send written feedback to at least 100 writers. They will also offer at least two spaces on their Emerging Writers’ Group.
DEADLINE: 5 FEB
That’s it for this week!
Really hope it’s useful. It’s a tough time for artists (and, well, everyone) at the mo so please look after each other out there. Let me know if you’re successful with your applications - I love hearing from you! And as always if you enjoy Opportunity Tuesday please share to help it reach the folks who need it most. I started it to try to level the playing field a bit, and every little helps.
Opportunity Tuesday will always be free to access, but if you can afford to chip in a little something to support me to keep it going, that would be hugely appreciated - just click the button below to support with £1 per week. (I’m freelance too!)
Thank you for your support, and I have my fingers and toes crossed for you. Good luck!
P.S. The part you’ve all been waiting for - Mabel says hi
Please note: Inclusion in #OpportunityTuesday is not endorsement. I look far and wide for the most interesting and exciting paid opportunities I can find, and though I do my best to make sure they’re legit, I don’t always know the organisations well. If you have an issue with something on the list, please get in touch with the relevant organisation. You are very welcome to send me opportunities to include, but please note I will not be able to respond to every request, and I do not guarantee inclusion in the list - each week is curated to be varied and relevant. I don’t normally share ‘traditional’ salaried roles such as marketing, development, finance etc as they are often not relevant for artists. Thanks!