#4. Self-care for artists, open calls and emerging directors
An early edition including creative self-care, chicken soup, artist open calls, paid opportunities and plays with emerging directors.
INSPIRATION
This week, I’ve got two recommendations for you. First: a cult classic book to help you reconnect with your creativity. And second: a life-changing chicken soup.
The Artist’s Way
In The Creative Act: A Way of Being*, Rick Rubin says that, “We are all antennae for creative thought.” Whether you consider yourself to be a creative person or not, we all hold the capacity to think and exist creatively - whatever our chosen field.
When I first went freelance to commit more time to acting, I was gifted a copy of The Artist’s Way* by Julia Cameron - a book that guides you through 12 weeks of learning and independent tasks designed to help you rediscover your creative self. While each week presents a range of new tasks, the two main tenets of the programme are Morning Pages and Artist Dates.
Morning Pages refers to the practice of writing three sheets from your stream of consciousness first thing every day without aim or judgement, while an Artist Date is a block of time you set aside each week to ‘nurture your creative consciousness’ - such as sketching sculptures at a gallery or walking somewhere new and leaving your headphones at home.
The idea is that this combination helps you get into the habit of following your creative instincts, and realise the importance of continually replenishing your artistic resources. I found that committing to the programme for 12 weeks really helped to shift my mindset and has since enabled me to access my inner artist with much greater ease. Give it a try - or don’t!
Chicken and leek pasta soup
Chicken soup is almost always the solution. And this recipe by Lucy Sally Sommer is one of the greatest to ever do it. It has chicken. It has leeks. It has garlic. It has rosemary. Lemon. Pepper. Parmesan. Cream. It’s perfect. And it WILL turn things around for you.
OPPORTUNITIES
Whatever your discipline, below is a round-up of paid opportunities and open calls to help further your career in the arts.
VISUAL ARTS
Paradise Works have an open call for artists to submit work for their exhibition, It's Paradise Up North, which celebrates and reimagines Northern identity. Artists who are from the North or inspired by its landscape or culture are invited to enter a painting, sculpture, photograph, installation, performance, moving image or sound for the chance to win a solo exhibition at Paradise Works, a Soho House membership, mentoring, a £200 cash prize and more. Submissions close Sunday 9th March.
Camden Council is seeking an artist to make a new 2D artwork to celebrate Camden’s LGBTQ+ community and go on display in Camden Town Hall. The winning artist will receive a fee of £2,500. Applications close 16th March.
PHOTOGRAPHY
The Rebecca Vassie Memorial Award offers early career photographers a bursary of up to £2,000 and support to create a new narrative photography project, with mentoring, industry and public exposure. Applications close 31st March.
Photo North Festival is running a national student photography competition, inviting photographs inspired by the theme of ‘HOPE’. Winners will exhibit their work at the festival in April. Submissions close 13th March.
SCULPTURE
The Doddington Young Sculptor Award is open for submissions from sculptors, installation artists and artists under the age of 35 and working in 3D. Pieces by selected entrants will be displayed at an exhibition in the grounds of Doddington Hall in Lincoln, with prizes of £1,000 and £500 available. Applications close 4th May.
The Mark Tanner Sculpture Award offers £10,000 in support to emerging artists working in sculpture, with prize funds to be used for the production of new work, a fully-funded solo exhibition and national touring programme. Applications close 12th March.
MUSIC
Dublin Sound Lab is inviting composers to propose new works to be performed at Music Current Festival next April. Submissions can be for any combination of flute, clarinet, violin, cello, electric guitar or percussion, with the commissioned artist receiving €4,000. Submissions close 17th April.
The International Showcase Fund and PRS Foundation offer grants of up to £5,500 for artists who have been invited to perform at international festivals, song-writing camps or conferences. Applications are welcomed on a rolling basis.
DANCE
Luca Silvestrini’s Woolwich-based dance company Protein is looking for dancers to join a new production commissioned by Dance East and The Place. Pay is £680 per week, plus holiday. Applications close 18th March.
Made by Katie Green is seeking a dance artist to join their company for SEED, a touring production for libraries and schools. Pay is £650 for the rehearsal week and £200 per day of performance, plus holiday and travel expenses. Entries close 14th March.
WRITING
Flawstate has an open call for scripts from new Northern writers looking for support to complete their first full-length play. One playwright will be selected for a 3-part research and development process, culminating in a read-through and feedback session in Manchester with a panel of producers. Submissions close 14th March.
The Creative Future Writers’ Award is taking applications from underrepresented writers of poetry, fiction or creative non-fiction, with £20,000 worth of prizes available. Applications close 18th May.
ACTING
National Youth Arts Trust grants drama, dance and music bursaries of £1,000 each to people aged 12-25 who can’t afford to access opportunities in the arts. Bursaries are typically used to pay for drama school tuition fees, a year of part-time training, or training-related expenses. Applications close 1st May.
Bomb Factory Theatre is running its fourth annual new writing showcase at Bush Theatre on 11th April, with the purpose of amplifying the voices of women and non-binary writers. Having now taken submissions from writers, they are due to share an open call for actor submissions at some point this month. Follow their Instagram to find out when the application window opens.
PRODUCTION
The Sir Horace Ové Grant offers up to £500 of financial support to Black and Global Majority individuals working behind the scenes in film, TV, and cinema. The grant aims to help with childcare, travel or professional development costs and support career progression. Applications are welcomed on a rolling basis.
The Disney Theatrical Group is seeking a paid Production Video Intern for the London premiere of Hercules: The Musical, which opens this summer. The internship will run full-time for a 9-week period, with the intern working alongside the show’s Production Video Engineers. Applications close 14th March.
EVENTS
This week, we’re focussing on emerging directors with a special screening event and some opportunities to catch some really exciting work on stage.
International Women’s Day screening
SHORTIES, a UK-based community of women working in film, are hosting an International Women’s Day screening and showcase of work by local female filmmakers at Picturehouse Finsbury Park on Saturday 8th March at 7pm. Attendees will receive a drink on arrival before the screening of four short films, followed by a Q&A and networking drinks. Tickets are £12.50.
UK theatre by emerging directors
Limitless is a duologue-based showcase at Brixton House Theatre that presents duologues and monologues by 16 actors, led by 4 emerging directors - Lucie Lutte, Mo Korede, Temisanren Uwawah and Isabel Steuble-Johnson. Performances take place on Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd March, with tickets for £10 with code LIMITLESS10.
Actors Touring Company (ATC) is producing a national tour of Tambo & Bones, ‘an exhilarating, darkly comic and provocative satire on capitalism and Black performance,’ written by poet and playwright Dave Harris and directed by ATC Associate Director Dubheasa Lanipekun. Performances run across the UK from 7th March to 24th May, with tickets from £15.
Leeds Playhouse and Stratford East have co-produced a new tour of George Orwell’s Animal Farm directed by Amy Leach, with Jordi M. Carter as assistant director. After opening at Stratford East, this grimy, thrilling and brutal new interpretation has since been nominated for an Olivier. Performances take place at Leeds Playhouse from 7th to 29th March and Nottingham Playhouse from 2nd to 12th April, with tickets from £14.
THANK YOU
For reading The Gallerist! I’d love to grow this newsletter to reach and help as many people in the arts as possible - if you enjoyed this edition, please forward it to a friend or share it on social media.
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