**DEADLINE EXTENDED** We are commissioning FIVE LOCAL ARTISTS to produce a 10-minute interactive and immersive experience to a small audience at our Clapham Park ArtBank on 21st August.
What is an ArtBank?
An ArtBank is an opportunity for artists and audiences to reconnect in a brief and immersive creative exchange. Artists develop a ten minute interactive performance — it could be dance, performance, poetry, visual art, music, anything! — that they perform to a small audience (in our case 3 people) for ten minutes. Then the audience rotates until they’ve seen each artist.
Some experiences may be more about listening, some laughing, some getting your hands dirty, and in some, you may even leave with something in your hand.
ArtBank was created by artist Christopher Green in Haringey as an ’emergency response’ to the pandemic to help people experience art while still being able to socially distance. The ArtBank Toolkit is open source offering guidance to anyone wishing to produce one of their own.
At Clapham Park Creative Co-op we love this idea and we’re excited to be experimenting with our own! We want to bring interactive performance INTO Clapham Park and especially offer those that are still nervous about big crowds an opportunity to see and feel something ‘live’, whilst still feeling safe.
The Clapham Park ArtBank
The Clapham Park ArtBank will happen on Saturday 21st August from 10am to 6pm at the Clapham Park Cube (116 Kings Ave, SW.).
— 15 audience members will attend each session (75 to 90 minutes)
— Audience will be split into groups of three or by household, and rotate between all the artists, spending 10 minutes with each
— We plan to host four sessions reaching a total audience of 60 people over the day.
— While our event is open to all ages, your work does not have to be targeted to a particular age group. We simply ask that you keep it safe so that audiences of all ages can experience it.
In each of the 10-minute slots you are free to interact with your audience in whatever way works. For example, if you are a musician you can perform a piece of your latest work and chat to the group about the meaning behind your lyrics. We are happy as long as it’s engaging and memorable.
What you will get out of it
— £200 artist fee + up to £50 for materials/expenses
— Connect directly with new and local audiences
— Experiment and test new work or ideas
— Build local networks by being featured through our social media and with our partners
— Receive support from Counterpoints Arts — the arts organisation behind the Clapham Park Creative Co-op — for refining your piece and identifying production needs.
What ‘artists’ can apply?
At Clapham Park Creative Co-op we use the term ‘artist’ loosely to mean anyone who is creative and who can engage an audience. We encourage experimentation and thinking outside of the box of what art might be.
You do not have to be an established artist to be able to apply. We are looking for a mix of different types of art that bring elements of fun, uniqueness or wow-factor leaving the audience feeling like they experienced something special. For example, we would consider all of these skills capable of producing an artistic experience to an audience: a bubble maker, clown, cake decorator, dog trainer, barber, etc…
If you would like some advice or guidance on how to adapt your skills into a performance piece, please get in touch with our team: claphamparkcreative@gmail.com.
Criteria to apply
— Locally-based in and around the Clapham Park neighbourhood and surrounding areas (e.g. you live or work in Clapham, Brixton, Tulse Hill, Lambeth, Streatham, Wandsworth, etc.).
— Are able to attend all a full day event on Saturday 21st August (set-up at 9am/finish by 6pm)
— Can offer a performance or activity that can be experienced in 10 minutes
— Clearly meets one of five different experiences we would like to have on the day: Visual; Physical; Musical; Intensity; Wow-factor
We are committed to ensuring the selected artists reflect the diversity of the Clapham Park community, and we particularly encourage applications from disabled people and those that identify as Black, Asian, person of colour (POC), migrant or refugee, as these groups are currently under-represented in the cultural sector.
Application Process
- Deadline 13th August, 9am via our Google Form
- Selected artists notified by 13th August afternoon
- 16th August – full announcement to go out on website and socials
The decision will be made by the Clapham Park Creative Co-op team which includes local residents and Counterpoints Arts staff.
We have purposefully made the application process as light as possible asking for short descriptions of your ideas. To help us get a sense of you as an ‘artist’, please share any web links, image or video to your previous work, or even a short video of what you might do at the ArtBank.
If you have any trouble accessing or using the Google Form, please email us for a Word document version. Alternatively you are welcome to send us by email a recorded video with your responses (maximum 5 minute video). Contact: claphamparkcreative@gmail.com.
A note on Covid-19 Guidelines
As this event is being produced in order to accommodate some of the more vulnerable neighbours who still feel anxious about Covid-19 and variants (as well as some artists that are continuing to take precautions), we will be maintaining some Covid-safe protocols which are no longer required by the Government, including social distancing, masks and limiting capacity. These guidelines will be reviewed together prior to the event.
We will be asking all the artists and staff to take a (free) lateral flow test the day before the event and show evidence of a negative test result. We hope you understand.
CLAPHAM PARK CREATIVE CO-OP 