The NewBridge Project Gallery is closed throughout March. NewBridge Books will be open as usual.
For the Practice Makes Practice Residency 2023 we have joined forces with MOTHEROTHER, initiated by NewBridge member Sue Loughlin. MOTHEROTHER is an inclusive and supportive collective for artists who are also caregivers.
For the Practice Makes Practice Residency 2023 we have joined forces with the MOTHEROTHER project initiated by NewBridge member Sue Loughlin, and will be having a gentler application process so we can tailor the situation to the requirements of the resident.
MOTHEROTHER is an inclusive and supportive collective for artists who are also caregivers. The term caregiver applies to the broad spectrum of parents, guardians and carers across our community. For more information about MOTHEROTHER events and activities please follow: www.motherother.org
There’s a lot of information on the residency here, but the process to apply is very simple! Have a look at the “HOW” section for details.
You can download a full residency application pack here.
This residency is for any artist who has a significant caring role which has impacted their ability to engage with residencies in the past, or who may face barriers in developing their practice because of their caring role, or who maybe struggling to navigate within the current art infrastructure due to the lack of support for artists with caring responsibilities.
This residency is for artists of any age or stage in their career, though we are particularly interested in working with early career artists, from currently underrepresented groups, who may be facing multiple barriers to the development of their practice.
Applications are welcome from all disciplines and backgrounds, including but not exclusive to, those who have not attended formal arts education within a university setting, those at the beginning of their art practice or returning to art practice after taking time out due to caring responsibilities regardless of age, background, disability, gender, race, religion, belief, sex or sexual orientation.
The residency will be adapted to take special consideration of your personal needs as a caregiver.
Once the artist is selected we will work closely with them in order that their needs as a parent or carer are catered for.
This residency opportunity will provide the time and space to reflect upon and develop your practice within a supportive community of artists here at The NewBridge Project in Newcastle upon Tyne. You will be welcome to engage with the NewBridge and MOTHEROTHER communities and enjoy critical conversation, peer learning and social interaction as desired. However, you will not be obliged to commit to additional time or activities beyond what is possible or comfortable for you as a primary caregiver. No formal outcome is expected from the residency period.
Budget: there is a budget of £6050 for the residency.
Transparency: this has to cover artist bursary, travel, accommodation, materials, care/dependent support, other access requirements. As we anticipate a range of circumstances for applicants, we haven’t budgeted in more detail in advance, but we will work with the successful applicant to realistically set the budget for their requirements.
There is no application fee.
The residency will take place between September 11th and November 30th. The period of the residency within this is up to you, but we are suggesting 4 weeks as a starting point. You might do a month-long block, or propose splitting it up across the period.
The residency will be at the NewBridge Project, The Shieldfield Centre, 4-8 Clarence Walk (via Stoddart Street), Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 1AL
We will have a range of communal co-work and private studio / project spaces available for you to use.
The residency will involve you being an artist in the NewBridge Project building sometime between 11th September and 30th November 2023.
To apply, please send an email with the subject heading “PMPxMO Residency Application” to Dan (dan@thenewbridgeproject.com) copying in Sue (sue@motherother.org) by the deadline of 6pm on Monday 15th May.
To apply please tell us about:
Say what you’d actually like to do – not what you think we want to hear!
You can do this in the following ways:
Please title your application file “Your_Name_PMPxMO_Residency_Application”.
If you’d like the recorded conversation application process, don’t leave it to the last minute to arrange with us!
Though these are not qualifying requirements, you may wish to include:
You will also be asked to complete and submit and Equality and Diversity Monitoring Form, which will remain anonymous.
Applicants do not need to present a portfolio, demonstrate a track record of achievements or present a CV.
The successful applicant will be chosen based upon the quality of their proposal for how they will use the time and resources on offer through the residency. We will not select based on CV, track record or artform.
We will select based on good ideas (the who/what/how/why of your proposal); imagination and enthusiasm (sharing the things that excite you about your creative practice); your grasp of the opportunity (how is being able to be an active artist for a period of time good for you?) ; and personality (we would prefer it if your particular take on the opportunity and how you’d undertake it in your own way shines through rather than a generic copy-and-paste job).
Don’t assume we know anything about your interests or practice – use the application to give us a glimpse into your world. Be as specific as you can, and give examples to help us understand. It is perfectly acceptable to apply not knowing exactly what you want to do, as long as you explain why this will be beneficial. Remember, there is no stipulated outcome – we want to support you to come to NewBridge and be an artist in whatever way you’d like for the duration of the residency. This can include: research, planning; dreaming, making, trying new things, conversations; writing and more. Finally, (it sounds strange but you’d be surprised) don’t apply if you don’t actually fancy doing the residency!
Information on your caring responsibilities and access requirements will not be used to inform the decision, but they will be used to plan the residency should you be successful. Your dependents can form part of the proposal if you’d like them to be an active part of it, or you can stipulate the care they’ll need to allow you to focus on the residency away from them.
We will support you to apply if you get in touch and let us know what support you require.
Some good advice on applying for stuff can be found here:
https://www.jigglenjuicecollective.com/support-resources
Please note we can only offer generic feedback on unsuccessful applications, but Dan can offer 1-1 feedback on your next application to something instead.
There are two opportunities to help shape the residency’s support considerations: a questionnaire and an online meet-up (the online event will also be an opportunity to ask questions about the residency and application process).
We’ll share info on the online event shortly.
Here’s the questionnaire to help shape the residency.
Deadline: Monday 15 May, 6pm
The residency package will include:
Key dates:
MOTHEROTHER recognises that the benefits and challenges of caring are universal & is inclusive of all those with caring and parenting responsibilities regardless of age, background, disability, gender, race, religion, belief, sex or sexual orientation.
To apply for the residency you must be a member of The NewBridge Project, but we offer free bursary places for Associate membership if you face barriers to involvement and the next round of bursary places is currently open for application – simply email Dan to request a bursary.
You can find out more about the bursaries here and the Associate membership of NewBridge (that gives you access to Practice Makes Practice events and opportunities) here.
Ongoing MOTHEROTHER events and activity info can be found here.
If you have any questions about the residency, application process, MOTHEROTHER or NewBridge, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Dan Russell or Sue Loughlin for an email exchange or online/real life meet up. dan@thenewbridgeproject.com / sue@motherother.org
Please bear in mind that Dan is on annual leave for much of March so Sue might be your first port of call.
Sue Loughlin has been supported by NewBridge to develop MOTHEROTHER as an independent project. Often with our programme (including residencies) we try and work in new ways to learn how best to inform future practice, and to share what we learn with others. The subject of MOTHEROTHER’s interest: supporting artists with all manner of caring responsibilities, resonates with work we are doing on accessibility and it was decided to combine efforts instead of duplicating activity.
No, you can have any form of primary caring responsibilities.
A primary caregiver is someone who plays the dominant role in the care of another individual. This may be as a parent, guardian or carer for children, young people, adults or elderly relatives or significant others. Being a primary caregiver has probably impacted your ability to practice as an artist, and that’s what this project is about.
On this occasion you can’t apply. In future PMP Residencies will have different remits again.
Yes.
Yes. Although our travel budgets do not extend to international travel.
That’s one way of thinking about it. Another would be that we are going to be using the learning from this project, to advocate (with our extensive network of partner organisations) for making more opportunities and work more accessible for artists with caring responsibilities. There are two opportunities for residencies as part of MOTHEROTHER.
No, we have a broad definition of art and any creative practice will be considered.
Provisionally yes, but the scale and scope might be adjusted accordingly (we are unable to double the budget).
Not as such. There’s a parallel programme of gallery and off-site projects on throughout the residency period. There’s no prescribed outcome for the residency, but you might like to share something publicly as part of it, which can be discussed with Dan. Think of the residency as something to be enjoyed in and of itself, rather than a stepping stone to an unknown future.
This residency is supported by North of Tyne Combined Authority and as such must benefit people in this area (NewcastleUpon Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland). The artist will either: live in the North of Tyne area; connect with residents of North of Tyne through being in residence at the NewBridge studios in the Shieldfield neighbourhood; strengthen links to other North of Tyne artists, organisations and initiatives.
This residency is part of Practice Makes Practice, an artist development programme run by artists for artists, initiated by The NewBridge Project and supported by Newcastle Culture Investment Fund and North of Tyne Combined Authority. This residency is supported by North of Tyne Combined Authority and a National Lottery Project Grant from Arts Council England for the MOTHEROTHER project.
If you miss the deadline, don’t get in touch, don’t panic, and just send it as soon as you can. Bear in mind that we’ll be longlisting on 16th May (day after the deadline), selecting on 17th May and letting the successful applicant know by 26th May, so you only realistically have 24 hours wiggle room from the deadline.
This residency is supported by North of Tyne Combined Authority and as such must benefit people in this area (NewcastleUpon Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland). The artist will either: live in the North of Tyne area; connect with residents of North of Tyne through being in residence at the NewBridge studios in the Shieldfield neighbourhood; strengthen links to other North of Tyne artists, organisations and initiatives.
This residency is part of Practice Makes Practice, an artist development programme run by artists for artists, initiated by The NewBridge Project and supported by Newcastle Culture Investment Fund and North of Tyne Combined Authority. This residency is supported by North of Tyne Combined Authority and a National Lottery Project Grant from Arts Council England for the MOTHEROTHER project.
The NewBridge Project is supported by Arts Council England, Newcastle Culture Investment Fund, Newcastle University’s Institute for Creative Arts Practice and the North of Tyne Combined Authority.
