Baltic and Shape invite disabled artists and creative practitioners in the first five years of their career to take part in a three-month residency programme. Emergent combines digital and physical elements of delivery, supported by both organisations.

Receiving an award of £5,000, the selected artist will take part in a residency where, in addition to receiving expert support and mentoring to inform their practice, they can use facilities and technical input to develop new or existing artwork. A showcasing or broadcast opportunity will be provided as part of the programme. A package of support will also be offered to a small number of shortlisted artists.

Eligibility
You self-identify as disabled* (see note below on what we mean by disabled) and have experienced barriers to progression in your career
You are within the first five years of your career
You are not in full-time education
Your arts practice is socially engaged
You are UK-based, and usually live in the UK
Aged 18+
You are available mid-October 2024 to end of January 2025, to take part in the residency. This is structured as:
Mid-October to mid-November – remote residency
Mid-November to mid-December– in-person residency at Baltic
Mid-January – remote residency
You will also have contact with the organisations on either side of these months, and there is flexibility as to how this contact is arranged. The artist, and any shortlisted artists, will be selected by representatives from Baltic and Shape. Artists who were selected in 2023 are not eligible to apply.

Timeline
Deadline for applications Sunday 25 August 2024, 23:59
Conversations with shortlisted artists expected to take place early September
Announcements Monday 16 September
We will liaise with the awarded artist on a flexible basis in September prior to activities beginning in October

Submitting your Application
As part of the application we will ask for:

A covering statement (500 words max.) telling us about your work, and how this residency opportunity will benefit you
A description of the barriers you have faced in starting your artistic career
A recent or updated CV or biography
Examples of your work, this can be attached as files (up to six images of your work or a video/audio extract, no longer than two minutes) or an online portfolio/website
You will need to self-identify as disabled (see note below)
We strongly recommend you read the Emergent FAQs document before applying
You can apply via Submittable which accepts text, audio and visual media. This means you can use the format most accessible to you.

Further to Baltic and Shape's Equal Opportunities Statement here, your personal details from the Submittable form and your responses to the Equality Monitoring Questionnaire will not be seen by the shortlisting panel. This means we can make the selection based only on how the bursary will benefit your practice. In addition, we would ask that in your short statement and CV/biography, you do not include any personal information which identifies any personal characteristic, for example, your age, title, name, e-mail address, home address, nationality details, immigration status, dates of examinations.

You can also send your application by post, please do not send original artwork, applications will not be returned:

Baltic x Shape Emergent Residency 2024
Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art
Gateshead Quays
South Shore Road
Gateshead NE8 3BA

Frequently Asked Questions
A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page is available to help with your application. Due to the expected high volume of applications, we may not be able to give individual feedback. This programme is only on offer to those artists who self-identify as disabled.

*What do we mean by disabled, or disability?
Because we recognise that people’s perspectives and experience of disability are very wide-ranging, we have a broad and inclusive approach to what disability means.

Some people will meet with access barriers on a daily basis; others may have a mental or physical impairment or health condition which is invisible to others or which they prefer to keep to themselves; some people may not even have considered themselves to be disabled until something has happened to make them reflect on the issue.

If you consider yourself to be disabled under this broad definition, then please indicate so in the monitoring form and where applicable in your application. The partners work to the social model of disability, and applications are not dependent on a medical diagnosis.

Baltic Studio Space Information:
The Emergent residency studio space is located at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead. It is fully accessible with step-free access. The studio is in a quieter area of the building and is serviced by a lift.

Partners
The Emergent programme is a collaboration between Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead and Shape Arts, London, with key activity taking place in the North East of England, where Baltic is based.

We are grateful for the support of Arts Council England, The Fenton Arts Trust, and Art School Plus.