Arts Funding Division (initiative)

Amount Up to $30,000
Applications close 29 January 2013
Decisions advised April 2013
Eligible projects commence from May 2013

About the initiative

The Early Career Residencies program provides an opportunity for artists, curators, editors and producers in all Australia Council supported art forms to develop and implement creative projects and developments, whilst being supported in a host organisation or venue.

A hosted residency opportunity can provide creative practitioners in the early stages of their career with the support to connect with new networks, new collaborators and provide new resources to develop and create work.

By hosting an early career residency, organisations can help to create pathways for a generation of creative practitioners, whilst enriching their own organisation by working with talented artsworkers in the early stages of their careers.

Residencies can be initiated and applied for by the host or by the early career practitioner. An amount of up to $30,000 is available for a residency of up to six months.

Residencies cannot begin before 1 May 2013 and must be completed before 1 May 2014.

Through the residencies program you can apply for funds for the costs of the creative project including artists' fees. For further information on potential residency activities refer to our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

 

Could you be a resident?

Recipients of early career residency grants will be in the first five years of their professional arts practice, recognised by their peers as creating work of a high calibre, and interested in further developing their skills. If you are initiating the residency, you must demonstrate experience in successfully managing projects and budgets.

A resident could have an individual practice or be a group where members have a history of working together.

Pairing with a host organisation will show residents have thought strategically about their creative project, and both the resident and the host are committed to forging new connections and networks.

 

Could you be a host?

A festival, a venue, an arts or non-arts organisation could be a host.

Hosts must demonstrate a clear commitment to collaborating with early career creative practitioners, and have a successful track record of managing projects and budgets.

Hosts must clearly articulate how this residency will impact positively on their organisation.

Residency grants cannot be used to support an existing position within the host organisation.

 

Contact

Potential applicants are encouraged to discuss their application. For information and any questions relating to this initiative, please contact:

Jane Eastwood 
Program Officer, Early Career Artists and Producers Program
Phone 02 9215 9032, Email j.eastwood@australiacouncil.gov.au

Arts Funding Division (initiative)

Amount Up to $30,000
Applications close 29 January 2013
Decisions advised April 2013
Eligible projects commence from May 2013

Eligibility

To be eligible, you must meet the general eligibility requirements and the specific eligibility requirements given below.

Residencies are open to creative practitioners who are in the first five years of their professional practice, and organisations that wish to host them. The application must include the commitment of both the host and the resident.

The resident can be an individual practitioner, or a group where members have a track record of creating work together.

In addition, you must meet the general eligibility requirements. Further information can also be found in the FAQs specific to this initiative.

Residencies are not designed to support arts administrators, technicians, film makers, journalists, photo journalists, fashion or graphic designers.

 

Selection criteria

Applications will be selected that best demonstrate:

• the impact of the residency on the early career practitioner and the host
• the calibre of the host and resident and the effectiveness of their match
• the viability of the proposed residency and attached project.

 

Selection process

An assessment panel will assess applications according to the selection criteria above. The outcomes will be published in an Assessment Meeting Report.

For more information on the assessment process, please see How your application is assessed in After you apply.

Arts Funding Division (initiative)

Amount Up to $30,000
Applications close 29 January 2013
Decisions advised April 2013
Eligible projects commence from May 2013

How to apply

You are encouraged to apply online for this grant. To begin an online application, use the 'Apply online' button in the right-hand column. Please select 'Arts Funding' when prompted to choose a board for your application. For other ways to apply, please see How to apply in Your application.

You have until midnight (12.00am) (AEST) on the advertised closing date to complete and submit your online application. If you choose to submit hardcopy supporting material if must be postmarked (ie you must mail it) on or before the advertised closing date.

If you choose to submit your supporting material online we strongly recommend applying well in advance to avoid technical or other difficulties that may occur. Technical assistance is only available 9.00am–5.00pm (AEST) Monday–Friday by emailing operationsservicedesk@australiacouncil.gov.au. 

As part of the online application you will be asked to address the following questions:

About the early career practitioner:

1. Please give a brief description of the work and the methodology of the early career practitioner or group.
2. What defines the group or creative practitioner as being in the early stages of their career in the arts?
3. Where does the early career practitioner or group see themselves in five years time? Address both career trajectory and creative practice development.

About the host:

4. Who is the host?
5. Please give a brief description of the work and methodology of the host.
6. Please outline any previous residencies with early career practitioners.

About the residency:

7. Please give a description of the creative project to be undertaken?
8. Briefly outline the key project milestones of the residency.
9. How will the outcomes of the residency be shared?
10. Please describe the role the early career practitioner or group will play in this project.
11. Why is this residency a good match between the host and the early career practitioner or group?
12. How will the residency contribute to the development of the host and the early career practitioner or group?
13. How will you know if the residency has been successful?

 

We will also ask you to provide a budget outlining your creative project. See the Frequently asked questions tab for more information on eligible expenses.

 

Supporting materials

Your supporting material should demonstrate past or present work by you and/or your collaborators, which is relevant to the grant or initiative you are applying for. Specific requirements for supporting materials are outlined in the Essential and Optional sections for each grant or initiative.

For your application to be eligible, you must submit all materials outlined in Essential supporting materials, specific to the grant or initiative you are applying for. You may also submit materials outlined in Optional supporting materials. Please do not submit additional supporting material, i.e. material that is not listed in either ‘Essential’ or ‘Optional’ supporting material, as such material will not be sent to members of the assessment panel.

Please also note that supporting materials are sent to members of the assessment panel as electronic files. Any electronic files which do not adhere to the guidelines outlined in the Questions about submitting your supporting material in the Frequently asked questions may render your application ineligible. In addition, we recommended you read the Questions about submitting your supporting material for general questions and answers about supporting material specifications and advice for troubleshooting when you are submitting your application.

You must be sure to follow the specific support material requirements for the grant you are applying for, and please check with the artform program staff if you have any further queries.

 

Essential supporting material

Outlined below is the essential supporting material required for this initiative:

1. Up to four URL links

To be received by the closing date:

1. • Please provide up to four URL links to previous work. Up to two for the early career practitioner and up to two for the host. These can be for moving image works, still images, sound, text or any other form of online documentation that best supports your proposal.
   • Please see the FAQs for information on how best to submit a URL and examples of what digital platforms can be used.

2. Letter of commitment and endorsement
   

To be received by the closing date:

2. • If you are applying as the resident, please provide a PDF letter of commitment and endorsement from your host (no more than one page).
   • If you are applying as the host, please provide a PDF letter of commitment and endorsement from your resident (no more than one page).

 

3. One page curriculum vitae (CV)

You must provide a relevant one-page CV for the resident. This must be submitted in PDF format.

If your supporting material is not submitted with your application by the closing date, your application will be deemed ineligible. All material must be submitted online.

 

Additional support material

Do not submit additional supporting material that is not listed in the Essential and Optional Categories.

 

Submitting my supporting material

We recommend you submit all supporting material online as electronic files with your application. Information on file specifications and how to upload this material can be found in the Questions about submitting your supporting materials frequently asked questions.

If you have further questions, please contact the artform program staff well before the closing date. Contact details are located on the 'About' tab.

Arts Funding Division (initiative)

Amount Up to $30,000
Applications close 29 January 2013
Decisions advised April 2013
Eligible projects commence from May 2013

General FAQs

It is recommended that prospective applicants read the general Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for all grants.

 

 Early Career Residencies FAQs

Specific FAQs relating to this initiative are listed below. Please regularly check for updates as new questions may be published during the grant round.

Who can apply?

Residents: early career artists, producers, editors and curators from any of the Australia Council supported art forms are eligible to apply for the residency program. You can apply with your host organisation as an individual practitioner, or as a group that has a track record of creating work together.

Host organisations: both arts and non-arts organisations are encouraged to apply to host an early career residency, for either an individual creative practitioner or group. University faculties interested in applying should read the eligibility guidelines prior to submitting an application. Major Performing Arts and Key Organisations currently funded by the Australia Council are eligible to apply, and are encouraged to refer to the eligibility guidelines and speak with Arts Organisations staff prior to submitting an application.

International organisations are eligible to apply, but MUST host an Australian individual creative practitioner or group. In contrast, Australian organisations are not eligible if they intend to host a creative practitioner who is not an Australian citizen or permanent resident.

School are encouraged to check out our Artist in Residence program run in partnership with State and Territory arts agencies and education departments.

Do I have to be less than 30 years of age?

No, age is not an eligibility requirement for the early career residency program. However, you do need to be within the first five years of your professional creative practice.

What does 'early career' mean?

The Australia Council defines 'early career' as creative practitioners who are in the first five years of their professional practice, and can demonstrate a professional outcome to their practice. For example, this could be:

• publishing or editing a book or staging a play
• producing a festival, show or tour
• professionally curating exhibitions
• exhibiting and selling work in a professional context
• having at least one professional performing arts production, sound, digital or music work professionally performed, recorded and/or produced
• professionally employed to work as a community cultural development practitioner on a project.

If you are applying as a group it would mean that your group and its members have been working professionally for up to five years together.

I'm part of a group of artists, can we apply?

Groups of early career practitioners whose members have been working together, and have a continued commitment to work together can apply. The residency program however, is not for groups that have just come together for this application. The artistic achievements of the group will be assessed as well as the individuals who are in it. The group's body of work and commitment to work together, will be taken into account when assessing the selection criteria of calibre and viability.

For the purpose of eligibility, the Australia Council defines groups as: groups of individual creative practitioners who join together informally to collaborate in the creation, development or presentation of work. Groups applying for residencies will need to be able to demonstrate a history of working together and be able to articulate how the residency will benefit the group's trajectory and development.

Please note that groups must nominate a member of the group to take legal and financial responsibility for the grant. A letter confirming this arrangement must be submitted with your support material. If you are not able to take financial responsibility for managing the funds, the host may be the most viable applicant.

What is an organisation?

For the purpose of eligibility, the Australia Council requires that organisations be registered under law (e.g. incorporated association, company limited by guarantee) or created by law (e.g. government statutory authority). Organisations may be required to provide a certificate of incorporation as evidence of their current legal status. Organisations applying to host a residency that are not legally constituted (i.e. groups) are not eligible.

I am transitioning from one creative practice to another, and am in the early career stages of my new creative practice. Can I apply?

Yes, you may be eligible to apply if your are transitioning from one creative practice to another. To be considered as early career, you will need to clearly articulate your experience in the creative practice you are transitioning into and proposing for your residency. Your support material should demonstrate your professional experience in the creative practice you are applying for.

Some examples of applicants that may be transitioning:

• dancer to choreographer
• actor to theatre director
• artist to curator
• musician to producer
• writer to editor

Who should I choose as my host organisation?

When thinking about who to choose as your host organisation as yourself these questions:

• Where am I currently in my practice?
• Where do I want to go?
• What skills, knowledge or networks do I need to get there?
• What do I want to get out of a residency?
• What can I bring to a host organisation?

I'm applying as a host organisation, who should I choose to work with?

When thinking about who to choose, consider the following questions:

• How could we benefit from hosting a resident? What could be the flow-on effect for staff/clients/processes?
• What opportunities/resources/skills/knowledge can we provide for a creative practitioner?
• What is the vision of our organisation? How could hosting a resident help realise our objectives?

Can my residency be located overseas or involve international practitioners?

You can undertake your residency overseas. Consider how you will maintain these connections in the future, and why this international collaboration is valuable to your practice.

This residency program only supports Australian creative practitioners. Early career practitioners who are not Australian citizens or permanent residents, cannot be a beneficiary of this initiative. If your group has two or more members and includes international creative practitioners, we recommend speaking with program staff prior to submitting your application.

I have been accepted into a formal residency program; can I apply to this grant for my expenses?

No. The Early Career Residency grant encourages potential residents to approach an established organisation they wish to collaborate with in the creation/exploration of work and ideas. It is expected that the host organisation will contribute resources to the collaboration beyond studio space.

My organisation currently runs a residency program; can we apply to fund one of our residency positions?

No. The Early Career Residency grant cannot be used to fund existing programs.

I want to apply as a resident but do not yet have a host organisation. Can I still apply?

No, all applications must demonstrate a commitment between resident and host at the time of submission. The application questions, support material and selection criteria require applicants to show this commitment. Ideally, residents and hosts should work together on their application.

Please note that the Australia Council will not match residents with hosts.

I want to apply as a host organisation but do not yet have a resident. Can I still apply?

No, all applications must demonstrate a commitment between resident and host at the time of submission. The application questions, support material and selection criteria require applicants to show this commitment. Ideally, residents and hosts should work together on their application.

Please note that hosts cannot apply to run a selection process.

I'm applying as a host organisation; how many residents can up to $30,000 support?

You can apply for up to $30,000 for one residency. Organisations can apply to host either an individual practitioner or a group that already has a history of creating work together. Host organisations cannot apply to host more than one individual pracitioner or group in a single application. Please note that organisations may only submit one application in their name.  

I don't have a website. Do I still need to provide URL support material?

Yes. If you don't have your own website there are many free Internet services for uploading material. Some popular sites include YouTube and Vimeo for moving images, Soundcloud for music and sound, Flickr, photobucket and Picasaweb for moving and still images. Please note that we will not be downloading this support material for distribution but rather providing our assessors with links to view this material online. Please make sure your support material is viewable when the URL link is clicked. If your URL requires a password to view the material, please include it with your application.

What does the selection criteria mean?

The impact of the residency on the early career practitioner and the host

• What effect will the residency have on the development of the resident's and/or host's creative skills?
• How will the residency impact the resident's and /or host's organisational skills development?
• How will the residency develop the networks of the resident and host?
• How will the early career practitioner's career progression benefit from this residency?
• How does hosting a residency benefit the host organisation?
• Is there potential for the host organisation to support future early career practitioners?

The calibre of the host and resident and the effectiveness of their match

• What are the achievements of the host organisation and early career practitioner to date?
• Consider the mission statement of the host organisation - how does this residency fit with their objectives?
• Why is this residency with this host organisation best for the early career practitioner?

The viability of the proposed residency and attached project

• Is the budget realistic?
• What is the project plan for the residency and is it achievable?
• What are the timelines?
• Is this residency a good fit for the early career practitioner and host organisation?

Examples of potential early career residencies.

Early career residencies are open to practitioners working across any art forms supported by the Australia Council. Possible examples could be:

• A sound artist could undertake a residency with a dance company, to create a soundscape for a new contemporary dance work that responds directly to a dancer's movement.
• A visual artist could undertake a residency with a science-based organisation, to create an exhibition exploring an aspect of the human body.
• A producer in the early stages of their career could undertake a residency with a touring circus company, to produce a small regional tour of a new show.
• A band who have been playing music together for a few years and have been getting paid gigs could undertake a tour with a more established group or record an album together.
• An editor of an online zine could undertake a residency with an artist-run initiative to create a digital, interactive catalogue for an upcoming exhibition.
• An experimental digital artist could undertake a residency with a health organisation, to collaborate on an interactive artwork that could be used in physical therapy.
• An independent dancer could undertake a residency with an overseas dance company, to create a new contemporary dance fusing contemporary and culturally traditional techniques.
• A community cultural development practitioner could undertake a residency with a regional community arts organisation, to create a new piece of verbatim theatre based on local stories.
• An early career theatre director could undertake a residency with a major theatre company, to collaborate on a new theatre work in a language other than English to be presented within an emerging community.
• An Indigenous textile artist could undertake a residency with a textile house, to develop a new line of work.
• A digital media artist could undertake a residency with an orchestra, to collaborate on a series of performances where visual representations replace traditional instruments.
• A writer could undertake a residency within a corrective services unit, to collaborate with prison inmates on an exhibition of poetry.

What can the residency funding be spent on?

You can spend funding on expenses related to pursuing your residency and delivering your creative project.

Examples of budget items that might be included in each expense category include:

• Accommodation and travel costs
• Administration costs
• Production, program and direct costs
• Promotion, documentation and marketing

Examples of budget items that might be included in income for the residency include:

• Fundraising
• non-cash assistance or in kind (estimation of $ value)
• Other support for this project
• Own contribution
• Sponsorship

Funding may NOT be spent on:

• wages to support an existing position in an organisation
• administration and overhead costs incurred as part of an organisation's day to day operations.