The Exchange 2, OPEN CALL

Castlefield Gallery are inviting members of Castlefield Gallery Associates to participate in a creative exchange with fellow practitioners at Extra Ordinary People (Eastside Projects, Birmingham), CAMP (Plymouth), Turf Projects (Croydon), Primary (Nottingham), The NewBridge Project (Newcastle) and Spike Island Associates (Bristol).

THE EXCHANGE is an evolving project bringing together artists from across the UK, pairing peers from different networks and opening up space for new creative conversations.

Becoming part of The Exchange is an opportunity to begin a new creative conversation with an artist outside of your network, supported by a series of hosted events; developing new relationships and friendships between artists that wouldn’t otherwise be able to connect.  This open-ended process has no limits or boundaries but is simply framed by the invitation to begin a discussion. There is no formal requirement to collaborate or generate an outcome and participants will be able to communicate however they wish, at a frequency to suit the pairing.

The Exchange 2 builds upon the 2021 iteration of the project where 60 artists across the UK were paired together with the simple invitation to begin a conversation. The artist pairs valued the connection to another peer to think alongside and support one another. Although there was no anticipation of a formal outcome artists did make together resulting in video collages, animation, sacred knotting installations and performances. The variety of responses, levels of connection, outcomes and conversations was vast and far-reaching with some artists connecting for a short time and others who will continue to talk and collaborate long into the future. The Exchange is an opportunity to make a connection that may become something more. Take a look at the first iteration HERE.

Extra Ordinary People (Eastside Projects), CAMP, Castlefield Gallery Associates, The NewBridge Project, Primary, Spike Island Associates, and Turf Projects will each select 8 artists from their network to take part in the project through this open call.

Over nine months, a series of networking events and artist-led activities for The Exchange artists will be hosted online with the partner organisations, with the aim of supporting artists, building networks and making further connections.
As an optional part of the application process artists can propose an event they would like to share with the wider cohort. Each artist-led event has an available budget of £250 and the support of a host organisation.
At the end of the nine months, we will host a summit which will be a public opportunity to share experiences, stories and, if appropriate, outcomes.

The Programme Dates
Most events will be online and responsive to COVID guidance

• 22 November 2021: Deadline for applications
• Early January 2022: Artist pairs are introduced
• 10 February, 2–4pm: A big welcome to the project through an informal and fun ‘getting to know you’ event, hosted by Eastside Projects
• 3 March, 7-8.30pm: Social networking event hosted by The NewBridge Project
• 1 April, 7–8.30pm: An Exchange artist led event, hosted with Turf Projects
• 29 April, 2-4pm: An Exchange artist led event, hosted with Castlefield Gallery
• 10 June, 2-4pm: An Exchange artist led event, hosted with CAMP
• 5 August, 7-8.30pm: An Exchange artist led event, hosted with Spike Island
• 16 September, 2-5pm: The Exchange Summit, a public sharing event held at Primary, co-hosted will all project partners.

Attendance for events is voluntary – but we expect participating artists to attend at least two.

 How to Apply
Applications are open to Castlefield Gallery Associates members only – find out more about joining HERE

Application writing is unpaid labour and we want to keep this process to a minimum. As such, we are asking for the following, and no more. Applications can be written, or an audio / video submission. If applying via audio/video please host externally (eg. Vimeo) and set videos to password protected copying the link and password into a word doc or pdf for your application.

1) An expression of interest (about 200 words / 2-minute audio or video submission) outlining why you would like to be involved, and what you hope to gain from the experience.

2) 10 keywords that identify interests and areas of exploration within your proposal (these will form part of the pairing process).

3) Complete these two sentences:

What I need from a partner is…..

& What I can give a partner is …..

4) Would you like to organise an event as part of The Exchange? If so what would it be? Each event has up to £250 available.* Only answer this question if you want to organise an event (about 200 words / 2-minute audio or video submission)

5) Please think about your availability, can you talk mostly in the day / at night / set times / sporadically.

Please choose: Day Bird / Night Owl / Sporadic

6) A link to your website or profile (this might be a social media link, or a link to a Vimeo for example).

7) Your contact details (email / phone)

By applying to The Exchange you opt into your email being shared for communication purposes across organisations. Your email will only be used for contacting you about The Exchange, and your contact details will be held securely. 

Please email your application in a word document or pdf with EXCHANGE 2 in the subject line to associates@castlefieldgallery.co.uk by 10am Monday 22 November 2021 

Additional notes:

– You will need to be self-motivated to organise conversations with your partner, and willing to put some time aside to regularly exchange.

– If you are a member/associate of more than one project partner, please only apply through one
– Members that have taken part in The Exchange (1) are not eligible to apply. Artists that have previously applied but not been successful are welcome to re-apply with a new application.

*Image: Women In Net In Field, 2021 #APMKExchange
courtesy of Mani Kambo and Annabel Pettigrew