Venice Fellowships with Outer Spaces

Please note, this opportunity has now closed.

Thank you to all those who made an application. We will be in touch in due course. 

Outer Spaces are thrilled to be working with the British Council as a partner on their Venice Fellowships programme and will

be supporting one Fellow at the British Pavilion during the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024.

As an organisation, we want to support artistic ambition and create new contexts and catalysts for practice and collaboration.

We look forward to supporting this career-defining opportunity for an artist at a pivotal stage of their professional and creative

development and to connect with communities of artists beyond our spaces and regions in Scotland.

The Venice Biennale (Italian: La Biennale di Venezia) is one of the longest-running cultural festivals in the world. The British Pavillion has been creating a space for artists and architects to captivate and challenge international audiences since its beginning in 1895. In 2024 respected artist and filmmaker John Akomfrah will represent Great Britain and add to this long-standing tradition.

The Venice Fellowships Programme is a unique opportunity for creative individuals, students, researchers, artists and professionals at the early stages of their career, to spend a month in Venice during the world’s most important art and architecture biennales. Full details of the Venice Fellowship programme can be found on the British Council's website here.

The Fellowship has two major components:

Exhibition ambassador: Invigilating the British Pavilion, engaging with the public and being the public face of the British Council and its commission.

Research or creative project: Undertaking fieldwork in Venice to inform one’s creative practice, research and/or academic interests. This should be connected to La Biennale and/or British Pavilion exhibition themes.

The selected Fellow will travel to Venice for one month between April and November 2024 and become a part of a small cohort of early-career artists, curators and academics from across the UK. They will learn more about and promote the work of John Akomfrah to audiences at the British Pavillion and will expand their research and practice through conducting a self-directed project.

Eligibility and how to apply

Please note, this is an opportunity for all Outer Spaces studio holders that fall in one of the following categories:

- Individual artists occupying one of our spaces, not currently in higher/further education at undergraduate level

- Members of artist-led organisations and artist collectives occupying our spaces

- Members of formal organisational partners occupying our spaces

- Artists who participated in our More Than Space project

- Graduate participants in our First Steps in Outer Spaces project with Edinburgh College of Art, Gray’s School of Art and University of Highlands and Islands occupying our spaces

- Artists who have submitted an application form and are in the induction process for one of our spaces

Things to consider:

- Candidates must be available to travel and live in Venice for a full month period (30 days) from April to November 2024 – The designated period will be confirmed/assigned after final selection

- The successful candidate will be given a grant of £3,000 to cover their travel, accommodation and living allowance. They are responsible for their own spending, travel and accommodation bookings.

- Candidates must commit to and attend in full an Online Induction School Training so they can prepare for their Fellowship - Dates: 28 February, 06 March, 13 March, 20 March, 27 March, 03 April and 10 April 2024, from 6:30pm – 8:15pm UK time on Zoom

- Candidates must demonstrate experience of and/or confidence and/or interest in working with people from the most diverse settings and have (emerging) confidence approaching and engaging with them, including (for example) through public speaking and presenting experiences.

- Candidates will share our Programme values and ways of working, including collaboration, generosity, kindness, camaraderie and flexibility. We are seeking people who are people-concerned, team-oriented and active listeners and demonstrate a commitment to eliminating discrimination, promoting equality and fostering positive relations between people from different groups. Candidates must develop/explore a creative project/research that has a social value and social impact to contribute to fairer and inclusive societies and world.

- Candidates should already have an idea of a potential project or research proposal connected to the Programme values and ways of working described above as well as with 2024 La Biennale/British Pavilion theme, including racial injustice, colonial legacies, diasporic identities, migration and climate change, to be developed while in Venice and back to the UK.

- Please note: We also arrange for access costs to be covered. Further details are provided in the application form.

More information is available in the guidance document. Please read it carefully before submitting your application form.

To apply please download, complete and return the following documents: