Applications close this Sunday for our program Future Culture!
We’re inviting EOIs for the following opportunities to work with CuriousWorks that will run as salaried, casual, fixed-term, one-day-a-week positions from September 2024 through to June 2025:
For Future Culture, we’re looking to work with Western Sydney-based early-career artists and arts workers. We’re also prioritising artists and arts workers from CaRM (Culturally and Racially Marginalised) backgrounds to directly combat ongoing inequity in arts leadership roles.
Need more info? Read our FAQ below!
ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCY & ARTS INTERNSHIP
What kind of artists can apply to the Artist-in-Residency?
Any medium! CuriousWorks focus is on screen works, digital media, and emerging art forms, but we’re looking to support socially-conscious artists of any medium – visual art, literature, music, theatre, digital, fibre arts, interactive art, etc.
Can I apply to both the Artist-in-Residency and the Arts Internship?
If you’re interested in both opportunities, sure! That said, both opportunities have different work and salary expectations, so make sure to read the application details thoroughly. If you’re selected for one opportunity, you won’t be selected for the other.
For the Artist-in-Residency, will I just be working on my independent projects, or will I also be working on CuriousWorks projects?
You will only be working on your independent projects. If we ask you if you’re interested in working on another CuriousWorks project, that will be a separate contract from your residency.
For the Artist-in-Residence, do I need to have an outcome at the end?
We have a question around “what you hope to achieve by the end of the program,” but your goals don’t have to be strictly outcome-focused. You can be starting early development on a new work, refining your work processes, research and development, whatever you can think of!
There is an opportunity for you to share something at the end of the program in June 2025. It can be super polished, or it can be a work-in-progress. What you’ll share is up to you. We want to support artists in creating work, and we understand that progress is not always linear!
If I’m the Artist-in-Residence, do I have to come into FCHQ every week?
No. This is a self-directed residency that doesn’t require you to come into our office.(We also don’t have a studio, so it’d be a little messy if you’re a visual artist!) We will be scheduling monthly check-ins so artists/arts-workers interns/CuriousWorks staff can all share what we’ve been working on.
What counts as ‘experience in the arts’ for the arts worker internship?
Your experience in the arts can include any personal art-making experience. It can also include:
- Volunteering at a festival or exhibition
- Any studies you’ve done (incl. one-off workshops and classes, not just degrees and diplomas)
- Internships
- Shadowing an artist or arts organisation
- Helping a friend with their arts exhibit
- Being a participant in a community arts program
FURTHER BREAKDOWN OF THE APPLICATION FORM
What does “early-career”/ “emerging” mean?
CuriousWorks defines ‘early-career’ as within the first five years of your practice; that said, we know people can still feel like an ‘early-career’ artist for multiple reasons. You might have had a very sporadic career, or you took a long break from the arts and are getting back into your practice. If the term ‘emerging’ or ‘early-career’ still feels like it fits, then it fits.
What does it mean to ‘have a connection to Western Sydney’?
Usually, people use the term to mean ‘lives or works in Western Sydney.’ If you lived in Western Sydney and moved away, but still feel a strong connection to the area, that also counts.
How do I write about my arts practice if I don’t have a lot of professional experience?
Writing an arts bio when you don’t have a lot of projects you could list in a CV can be difficult. Here are some suggestions for what to write about:
What kind of art do you make?
- Feel free to add specifics around genres, mediums, and ideas
- List more than one arts practice if you do multiple things
- Don’t be afraid to own a title, even if you don’t feel like a professional. If you make art, you’re an artist. Period.
What are you passionate about in the arts? Tell us a story. It could be about:
- How did you get started with art?
- Why is art important in your life?
- What specific people, artists and/or artworks that have inspired you?
What themes and ideas do you explore/are interested in exploring in your arts practice? It could be:
- Working with specific mediums, genres or techniques
- Ideas or questions that are academic or philosophical or personal or domestic. No theme, idea or subject is too small or ‘silly’
- Experiences or subjects you think people should make more art about, or that you think you in particular can make great art about
How long should my answers be?
We have included a suggested answer length to each question (usually 1 or 1- 2 paragraphs). A paragraph is usually 3-5 sentences, about 100 - 200 words. That said, this is a suggestion for those who feel like word counts are useful to them. If you want to write more, write more - we don’t want to limit you if you have a lot to say!
I’m not sure whether this opportunity applies to me…
Apply anyway. Please don’t discount yourself before the program begins. If it’s not the right opportunity for you, maybe we’ll know something that would suit you better. We would much rather have a few applications that don’t fit than lose out on folks not applying because they’re worried this isn’t for them.
Applications are open until Sunday, 11 August 2024 at 11:59PM. All applicants will be contacted by end of August.
Full details and application links for both opportunities are as follow:
For any questions, please contact our Creative Producer Miranda Aguilar at miranda@curiousworks.com.au.
Future Culture 2024-2025 is a pilot program supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.