Reconfiguring Ruins: Materialities, Processes and Mediations
Artist Commission Opportunity
http://thenewbridgeproject.com/news/artist-commission-opportunity-reconfiguring-ruins/
Deadline: Thursday 14th May 2015, 10am
Artist Fee: £1000
Materials: £2000
Reconfiguring Ruins brings together the School of Advanced Study, University of London, the Open University, Newcastle University and Sheffield University, The NewBridge Project in Newcastle and the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) in London.
We invite visual artists and filmmaker to apply for an artist commission opportunity to create new work on the theme of ruins and ruination. The successful commission will be exhibited at The NewBridge Project in Autumn 2015 and then go onto be exhibited at Senate House, London.
We welcome proposals that explore ruins in a variety of ways; from the materiality of a ruin, social and economic causes, how we engage with and interact with ruins, preservation and ruin value, deliberate and natural ruination, the processes by which ruins emerge, change and are sustained, their impact on landscape and community and how ruins can allow us to imagine future change as well as interact with past.
Details:
•Artist fee: £1000
•Commission budget: £2000 (this is for material and production costs, additional budget will be available for install and technical support).
•The commission is for the development of a new piece of work (not to showcase existing work), as well as an accompanying publication (for which there is a separate budget).
•The commission is for visual artists and filmmakers whose practice is concerned with the theme of ruins and ruination.
•We invite proposals in a range of mediums; from film, sculpture, installation, performance, digital media, painting.
•The work will premier at the NewBridge Project Space in Autumn 2015, then tour to Senate House, London.
•The selected artist will be expected to attend a Reconfiguring Ruins Workshop on Monday 8 – Tuesday 9 June 2015 at The NewBridge Project.
•Individual artists and artist collectives may apply.
•Undergraduate students are ineligible.
More information on Reconfiguring Ruins: Materialities, Processes and Mediations:
Funded by an AHRC ‘Care for the Future’ Developmental Award, Reconfiguring Ruins brings together academics from the School of Advanced Study, University of London, the Open University, Newcastle University and Sheffield University to work across disciplines, geographies and media. The project partners are The NewBridge Project in Newcastle and the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) in London.
The project aims to critically reflect on the contemporary explosion of interest in ruins across the arts and humanities by re-connecting the theoretical and methodological metaphors which draw on ruins and ruination (e.g. ‘excavation’, ‘archaeology’, ‘palimpsest’) with the materiality of the ruin; the processes by which ruins emerge, change, and are sustained; and the different kinds of actors that engage with ruins.
The aesthetic of ruins privileged in the romantic concept of Ruinenlust (illustrated by, among others, Tate Britain’s ‘Ruin Lust’ exhibition, March-May 2014) captures a particular Western gaze on ruins as a concept, site and process. Our cross-disciplinary and cross-period approach questions the meaningfulness of ruins from other perspectives, and asks whether the imagination of ruins can be a generative and pre-figurative means of engaging with future change as well as thinking about interactions with the past.
This commission is part of a wider project, which included a workshop at Museum of London in January 2015, and will also include a further workshop at The Newbridge Project in Newcastle upon Tyne in June 2015. The workshops are centred around talks, presentations and critical discussions, as well as site visits to urban ruins. The conversations, between academics, artists and practicing archaeologists, among others, will form the basis for a range of critical and creative work.
How to apply:
To apply please send the following to Studio & Programme Coordinator, Rebecca Huggan r.huggan@thenewbridgeproject.com
Deadline: Thursday 14th May, 10am
•Proposal (max 2 A4 pages)
Including what you would like to do, how it engages with the theme, how you intend to create and deliver your idea, any sketches/visualisations of the proposed work
•Artist CV/Bio
•6 supporting images of recent work or URLs to 6 works
•Outline budget of how you intend to use the materials budget
•Timeline to indicate key milestones in the production of the work
If you have any queries please contact Rebecca on the above email or call 
0191 232 8975.
Applicants will be informed if they have been shortlisted by end of May, interviews will be conducted on Monday 1st June, these will be via skype. The successful applicant will be expected to attend a Reconfiguring Ruins workshop at The NewBridge Project on 8-9th June.
See floorplan of NewBridge Project Space below, to find more images of previous exhibitions & commission please click here.
More information on partners:
The NewBridge Project is an artist-led community comprising of over 80 artist studios, an exhibition space, a bookshop and a social hub based in a 29,000sqft former office block in Newcastle-upon-Tyne city centre. The NewBridge Project supports artists to investigate and challenge the boundaries of contemporary art practice.
The NewBridge Project delivers a programme of exhibitions, screenings and live events, supported by responsive talks, publications and broadcasts taking place throughout their artist studios, gallery space, bookshop and locations off-site.
For over 4 years The NewBridge Project has provided exchange and support in an engaged and discursive community of artists. The shared workspace is a critical and collaborative environment that allows artists to discuss and develop new ideas and projects.
Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) have an experienced and innovative archaeology and built heritage practice. They have been providing independent, professional heritage advice and services for over 40 years across the UK and internationally on schemes both large and small. Their commercial services are designed to help their development, infrastructure and construction sector clients to meet planning process requirements swiftly and expertly, with the certainty and value they need.
As a charitable company MOLA’s aim is to inspire people to be curious about their heritage. They have award- winning community engagement and education programmes, which are founded on partnership and participation. The research conducted as part of the planning and development process takes place alongside their own academic research strategy and they set out to share the knowledge and information generated with the widest audience in ways which strengthen communities and create a sense of place.
Reconfiguring Ruins is supported by an AHRC ‘Care for the Future’ Developmental Award.
