OVERVIEW

Calling Portuguese, Polish and Romanian artists with experience of socially engaged practice for an unforgettable paid residency on the Island of Jersey. Large numbers of Poles, Portuguese and Romanians call Jersey home and ArtHouse Jersey is offering an opportunity for one artist from each country to learn about, research and explore the lived experience of their compatriots, creating a piece of work that celebrates the contribution each community makes to the Island.

The chosen Polish, Portuguese and Romanian artists will travel to Jersey and spend six weeks living and working in the Island from 17 January – 25 February 2022 staying in accommodation at ArtHouse Jersey’s headquarters on the beautiful north coast of the Island.

We are seeking artists of any discipline (conceptual, drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, design, dance, digital, crafts, photography, literary, video, film making, music, multimedia, live, sound, multidisciplinary etc.). Each artist will create an inspiring piece of work to be gifted to ArtHouse Jersey. The artists will attend the opening of a showcase featuring their work that will take place over the last weekend of the residency. Artists must be confident that they will be able to create their work within the timeframes and with the materials budget detailed below.

For the final two weeks of their residency the selected artists will contribute to the briefing of a visiting street art muralist on the lived experience of the Portugueuse, Poles and Romanians in Jersey, introducing them to the communities and explaining what they have learnt from the experience. This transfer of knowledge will inform the muralist’s creation of a piece of work in a separate but connected project which also aims to celebrate the contribution each community makes to Jersey.

We are working closely with the Polish Cultural Institute, The Embassy of Portugal and the Romanian Cultural Institute in London and plan to hold an event in London after the residency.

The deadline for applications is 3 September 2021.

ELIGIBILITY & REQUIRED CHARACTERISTICS

Entrants must be visual artists who identify as being from Poland, Romania and Portugal regardless of race, religion, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, political persuasion, or additional national identity. You must be over the age of 18, professionally committed to your craft and regularly present work to an audience. It is a wonderful experience for those who perhaps have not had the opportunity to take part in such a residency before. The residency will be facilitated in English so you will be required to have a confident working understanding of the language.

Importantly, entrants should be able to demonstrate experience of and an aptitude for socially engaged practice and work in community settings. The artist will see engagement with the local community as central to the creation of their work and exhibit a keen interest in exploring community dynamics, deploying techniques to understanding and engaging the public. The purpose of the residency is to have the artists learn about, research and explore the lived experience of their compatriots, with that learning directly informing the piece of work created.

Entrants should be confident working with other artists and presenting the results of their socially engagement practice, facilitating the sharing of their learning with fellow artists and the muralist. Entrants should also be happy to engage in some public speaking and media engagement as part of the social engagement and in relation to the showcase exhibition of their work.

Finally, noting the timescales involved, participating artists must be confident that they will be able to create a piece of work in time for the public showcase exhibition at the end of the residency.

AWARD

• £2,500 to research, develop and produce a new work in any medium that reflects on your experience and learnings in Jersey (the work will become the property of ArtHouse Jersey who will exhibit it at all times fully crediting the artist)
• Return flights (Europe)
• Accommodation at our headquarters on the beautiful north coast of Jersey
• Per diems and contribution to food cost
• Up to £750 for materials
• Assistance of an ArtHouse Jersey representative with community engagement

APPLICATION PROCESS

Artists wishing to apply for the opportunity should email matt@arts.je providing the following information. Deadline for applications is 3 September 2021.

• Name
• Nationality (city/state/region)
• Biography
• Two page statement outlining why you would like to participate, how you would approach engagement with compatriot communities and some indication of the type of work you are interested in producing with an idea of budget required for materials
• Website, social media links
• Portfolio, examples of previous artwork
• Any supporting documents, files or links

COVID-19

Jersey is currently operating a Covid-19 Safer Travel programme to allow visitors to safely travel to and from the Island. As Jersey is in the Common Travel Area, PCR testing isn’t currently required on return to the UK. A traffic light system based on an individual’s country of departure, and testing on arrival helps safeguard visitors and islanders from infection. More information can be found on the gov.je website.

KEY DATES

• 3 Sep 2021 Deadline for applications
• 27 Sep – 8 Oct 2021 Interviews
• w/c 11 Oct 2021 Artists contracted
• 17 Jan – 25 Feb 2022 Residency

ABOUT JERSEY

Jersey is a self-governing British Crown Dependency situated in the English Channel 22km from the French coast and 137 km south of the English coast. Jersey is the biggest of the Channel Islands, yet is only 8km long and 14.5km wide. The population of the Island is approximately 110,000, with relatively large Portuguese, Polish, and Romanian communities, which are thought to be the three largest nationality groups outside of those hailing from the Island itself and the UK. This paid residency opportunity provides an opportunity to research, develop and produce new work in any medium.

ABOUT ARTHOUSE JERSEY

ArtHouse Jersey is a charitable organisation that supports artists from Jersey and across the world to create ambitious work that has a positive impact on our Island community and international audiences. The art we support has been shown in galleries, cinemas and performance venues across the world as well as in schools, care-homes and Parish Halls across the Island.