Aberdeen MICRO-COMMISSIONS FOR ARTISTS

Outer Spaces is looking to commission 5 artists/artist collectives in Aberdeen to make new workusing vacant commercial property in the city.

Deadline: 25 September 2022 (midnight)

Outer Spaces has received an Aberdeen City Council Creative Funding 2022/23 award to offer five micro-commissions to artists based in the city and work with a Curator in Residence as part of the MORE THAN SPACE Aberdeen project.

Currently, our temporary spaces in Aberdeen include a city centre office floor, a high street shop, a retail unit in a shopping centre and a whole office block in Dyce. We have new spaces becoming available all the time, some of which are public-facing and suitable for public display of artwork.

We are seeking proposals from artists, collectives or community initiatives based in the city who wish to realise a creative project. These may be a complete project or a precursor or preliminary stage for larger or future projects. We welcome applications from artists working in any media, including performance, film and socially engaged practice.

As a pilot project, we seek to trial, refine and develop better models for artist-led initiatives to occupy and make use of vacant commercial property within the heart of towns and cities across Scotland. This opportunity supports artists to consider how they connect with audiences, find new approaches and challenges and to contribute to their own artistic development.

What We Are Offering:
Use of a vacant commercial property from mid-October. All participants will have the opportunity to retain use of the spaces for free beyond the life of the project (subject to availability, as each lease is subject to its own timeframe)
Fee: £750; plus up to £250 for production (for each artist/collective)
Curatorial and logistical support from the MORE THAN SPACE team

To apply, please submit a proposal of approximately 500 words including:
About you, your practice and area of interest
How you would use the space
What benefit it would bring to you, your practice or community
Contact Info: Name, home & email address
Website/social media links

Timeline:
Deadline for application is 25 September (midnight)
Successful applicants informed and matched to available spaces by 14 October
Get-in to spaces from 17 October onwards
MORE THAN SPACE pilot project ends in December, where upon participants will be invited to join a discussion to reflect upon the project and share feedback. It is hoped that spaces will remain available, subject to lease, and all participants will have opportunity to retain use of their spaces beyond lifetime of this pilot.

Important Guidance Notes:
Applicants will be chosen by the MORE THAN SPACE team.
Artists must have PPL insurance. Insurance for artists is available via membership of Scottish Artists Union, a-n or Axisweb.
Spaces cannot be used for commercial purposes. This is a condition of the lease.
We are aware of the proportion of artist’s time spent writing proposals. We don’t expect a fully worked-up plan. Just let us know how you could use the space to further your artistic practice. Keep it simple and realistic.
Artists, collectives and artist-led initiatives and community projects, are eligible.
We can only accept proposals from artists based in the City of Aberdeen.

Each space is unique, and comes with a reasonable set of terms of use.
Multiple artists can apply to use the same space, as we recognise that community is important to sustain artistic practice.
Upon receipt of applications, the MORE THAN SPACE team will match applicants with available spaces in Aberdeen.
Our public-facing spaces tend to be vacant shop units, either within shopping centres or on high streets. These could be used for a temporary exhibition, an event or performance or a series of activities or workshops.

Access notes:
Submissions should be sent as PDF, as recorded audio, or video. The majority of available spaces have ground floor access and accessible WC facilities. If you have questions about access, please get in touch at info@outerspaces.org

Please send your application to submissions@outerspaces.org with 'Aberdeen Micro-commissions' in the subject line by midnight on Sunday 25th September.