The Award:

The award will include:

• Solo Corridor Gallery exhibition at Level Centre for three months from January 2023
• Two mentoring sessions with Level Centre Artistic Associate and disabled artist Bella Milroy 
• Working alongside the skilled and friendly team at Level Centre
• A stipend of £650 
• Travel expenses or artwork courier costs 

Whilst we cannot contribute financially towards access costs, the Level team, together with Artistic Associate Bella Milroy, are friendly and experienced in supporting disabled artists and will offer dedicated and flexible support throughout the term of the award. 

The Corridor Gallery

The successful artist will be able to use the Corridor Gallery to showcase their work and to think creatively about how they could approach the exhibition space. We’re open to ideas that use less conventional methods of display. 

The Corridor Gallery at Level is a single wall of approx 6 metres in length and 2.9m high, with the option of using three 59in digital display screens. There are three plinths available for use H: 109cm, w: 75cm, D: 50cm. Due to the nature of the space, large 3D sculptural pieces are not suitable for display.

The Solo Exhibition

The exhibition could include:

• An existing artwork or project
• Documentation or archive material of your previous work or projects
• The process of how your work is made 
• Work in progress
• A new artwork or project

The exhibition doesn’t have to be made up of finished work.

Who we’re looking for:

We particularly want to hear from artists who:

• Have not worked with Level before
• Have a vibrant and varied creative practice that might not involve traditional art-making methods
• Might not have followed a traditional art-school route in their career 
• Might not have displayed work publicly before
• Might have struggled to neatly fit their practice into traditional gallery displays
• Are local to Level or who are based rurally in the region (East Midlands, Staffordshire, North East Derbyshire and South Yorkshire)

Applicants must be:

• A disabled artist at any stage of their career 

By using the term ‘disabled person’ we include anyone who identifies as being learning disabled, disabled, D/deaf, neurodiverse/neurodivergent and those experiencing chronic illness, mental health conditions, and more. We understand that different people prefer different terminology. You don’t have to prefer the term ‘disabled person’ to apply, we want to hear from the full diversity of disabled artists working across the UK.

How to apply

To apply for the Spotlight Award:

• Complete the Application form
• Complete the Equal Opportunities Monitoring form (optional)
• Upload a statement that tells us about your practice and what you want to explore 
• Upload additional supporting material or links to examples of your work

Application notes:

1. Research Project:

We are currently working with the University of Derby on a research project that explores the experience, practice and professional development of artists who are creatively co-producing work for, by and with the disabled community. We would like successful applicants to take part in this research as part of their residency, and you will be asked if you agree to this on the application form.

2. Statement

In your statement, please tell us:

• About you as an artist and a bit about your creative practice 
• How the Spotlight Award would benefit you and your practice
• What you want to explore and display through the Spotlight Award

We’re happy to accept applications in the following formats:

• Written submission – no more than two sides of A4/500 words. As an accessible organisation we would encourage all applicants to write their statement in Plain English.
• Video submission – no longer than four minutes
• Audio submission – no longer than four minutes

We want to make sure that our opportunities are accessible for everyone. If you have any questions, or need support to complete your application, please get in touch.

Email: info@levelcentre.com

Call: 01629 734848

Timeline:

Application deadline: 24 October (midday)

Successful artist announced: November/December 2022