Paid Callout for South-West Disabled Artists Working in Any Discipline, October 2024 – Seed commission of £400 + access
Bursary is available for 2 local artists - if more useful to speak to us before applying then say hello @livehughm on facebook/’X’/Instagram. All applications should be emailed to: hughmalyon@hotmail.com
SqBx is a crucible for experimentation, showcasing disabled artists expression of love, joy, rage, frustration, whilst navigating the ever-present eye of the assessment process. This combined with developing community and audience participation is the essence of Squeeze Box (SqBx).
This opportunity is for artists who connect with the above and who would benefit from space and artist support to test out an idea of their own alongside SqBx. We are looking for 2 creatives, who self-identify as disabled and/or neurodiverse, to join us at The Barnfield, Exeter Northcott between 16th-19th Oct.
Callout version 2The Barnfield Theatre, Exeter Northcott
SqBx will be base in the CLIFFORD space (left), but other space may be available
What is this about?: we are piloting a takeover model, where we are in residency while delivering workshops and platforming SqBx. To diversify/enrich the disabled voices within the work, we are inviting artists to respond to one or more of the following themes: rest, care, self-care, disability as positive identity, support and/or community. Any outcomes can be discussed to best benefit your development. This is a chance for you to try a new concept or play with a burning idea and receive feedback to help bring this to fruition.
Inspiration for your app – you could: test out a live intervention, public performance, original music, showcase artwork/concept, offer a workshop for SqBx artists or incorporate our process methods to see how they work within your own practice.
The Squeeze Box Team:
Disabled Writer/Performer: Hugh Malyon
Producer: Shelley Hodgson (main contact)
Neurodiverse Choreographer: Clair Sergeant
Neurodiverse Writer/Musician: Steve Sowden
Projection Artist/Performer: Tim Dollimore
BSL Interpreter/Performer: Emma Jane Heap
Creative enabler/writer: Jennifer Noice
Payment and timescale:
Artist fee of £400 to cover the activity plan. An access budget of up to £325 can be made available – this is open to discussion.
W/B 30th Sept: initial ‘get to know you and your practise’ zoom; a chance for you to detail what you might want to experiment with or platform
16th Oct: meet the full team and get-in
17th -18th Oct: space to experiment or exhibit (SqBx team will be running workshops for community groups during these dates
19th Showing of SqBx, artists workshops, get out and debrief/reflections/celebrations
Or, 7th – 11th Oct: We’re also working in the Liberal club Paignton, a converted shopfront, which may work better with its display windows for showcasing work
Things to think about and how to apply:
We are looking for two artist who are based in South-West working in any discipline, and be able to travel to Exeter. You should be comfortable working in a shared space and used to the concept of R&D/experimentation/risk-taking and passionate about empowering others. The SqBx producer is on hand to support with logistics and access, and a range of friendly artists can support with feedback and installation ideas
Please send us max 2 sides of A4 or 4 minutes video/sound recording; images and texts are all welcome, with examples or links to your work, answering:
1.what you’re about and where you are based? 2.what is your burning idea to test out – what message about care should be heard? To hughmalyon@hotmail.com by 11am on the 17th September
After shortlisting, we will organise an informal chat W/B the 23rd September to help us decide who will benefit the most from this platform. If you don’t receive a confirmation in 5 working days please send a message on social media.
Liberal Club Paignton
More about Squeeze Box: an immersive installation of sound, projection & performance allows audiences to experience a raw, emotional & exhausting battle of social-care assessment processes first-hand. Alive with multifaceted audience experience, heightened by live interventions, SqBx transforms space from huddles of welcoming conversation to full-blooded immersion in: projections, soundscapes, medical equipment props, malfunctioning communication aids clashing with voice; creating emotional experiences from joy to despair, desolation to solidarity.
The arresting nature of SqBx, cushioned by sensitivity & relationality, is the heart of our ‘audience contract’. Participants can place themselves: in a mosh pit-like creative expression, shifting position throughout the space, or more conventionally looking in, with artists shifting tone & actions accordingly. SqBx uses a lab approach in both the making and the performance, inviting audience members to choose for themselves how to negotiate the space and to play with projection, sound/music, proximity to artists/fellow audience members, props etc, demystifying process & connecting audiences as creators, thus fostering inclusivity, culture & community.
For more content about the work, images and video of previous creative sessions, please visit https://hughmalyon.live/practise/squeeze-box
