Open Call For Applications

Deindustrialization and the Politics of Our Time Artist in Residence (AIR) Program

Gender, Family, and Deindustrialization Thematic Initiative (2 positions – 2023-24)


Brexit, the election of Donald Trump as US President, and the rise of right-wing populism across continental Europe have refocused attention on the connections between race, gender and class in deindustrialized working-class communities. These volatile events have prompted debate and conjecture about the root causes and timing of the current social and political upheaval but little sustained research into those “left behind.”

The 7-year SSHRC partnership “Deindustrialization and the Politics of Our Time” (DePOT), based at the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling at Concordia University, brings together over 35 research centres, industrial museums, labour archives, trade unions and other organizations across Italy, France, Germany, the UK, Canada and the United States. It examines the historical roots and lived experience of deindustrialization as well as the political responses to it. One of the project’s primary public outcomes will be a multi-site exhibition on Deindustrialization and the Politics of Our Time. For more information on the project visit: https://deindustrialization.org/

The DePOT Artist in Residence (DePOT AIR) program supports creative engagements with the historical roots and lived experience of deindustrialization. We are interested in proposals that range across the performing, creative and visual arts, are rooted in deindustrialized areas in Italy, France, Germany, the UK, the US or Canada and that speak to the gendered and embodied dimensions of deindustrialization and its transgenerational legacies. It invites grassroots artists from working-class, racialized and marginalized communities in deindustrialized areas to join our multi-year, interdisciplinary and transnational partnership.

The DePOT AIR program is inviting applications for two one-year fellowships (August 2023 – July 2024) centred on gender, family, and deindustrialization. One fellowship is reserved for artists outside academia. Individual artists as well as artist collectives are eligible. A second scholarship is for scholars who engage in art creation. A stipend of CAD $8,000 will be paid out in two instalments, the second of which will be at the project’s conclusion when the work has been presented to the Project’s Assembly in June 2024. Depending on where recipients are located, we will support recipients in acquiring additional outside funding or sponsorships for the creative art projects and will support their work in other ways (including transcribing oral history interviews when necessary). Recipients are expected to follow the project’s ethics guidelines for research-creation and attend the June 2024 conference in the UK for which expenses will be paid.

The creative work generated will be showcased in the artist’s home community as well as at the DePOT Project Assembly and/or thematic workshop, on the DePOT website, book series, and potentially be incorporated into the project’s culminating multi-site exhibition. Depending on the nature of the creative work, it is even possible that some of this artistic work might travel between partners on the project.

 

Eligibility and Procedure

Lead artists should have demonstrated experience in community-engaged work. Proposed projects should have a demonstrated connection to deindustrialized communities, and ideally reflect, reference, or explore aesthetic forms, issues, and concerns that are in some way expressions of those communities’ experience with deindustrialization, especially with regards to gender and family. Candidates with a demonstrated and sustained connection to deindustrialized communities are preferred. Proposals should be grounded in the performing, creative or visual arts; however, projects that use interdisciplinary, multi-disciplinary, or integrated arts approaches are welcome. Recipients of other DePOT funding are not eligible to apply. Artists who are considering applying to the AIR program are strongly encouraged to contact deindustrialization@concordia.ca (please use “Artist-in-Residence Application” in the subject line) in order to discuss the suitability of their proposal to the DePOT project.

Deadlines and Funding Periods

29 May 2023 for projects that will take place between August 2023 and July 2024.

Applicants will be notified of the Adjudication Committee’s decision by the end of June.

Payment Schedule

Awarded Funds will be distributed in two equal installments. The first installment will be paid upon signing of an Acceptance Contract; the second installment upon submission of a Completion Report and after presentation to the Project’s Assembly.

Application Form

Please describe your project using the following headings and within the indicated maximum word limits:

  1. Title and brief Description of the Proposed Project (1/4 page max), indication application stream (artist or scholar)
  2. An abbreviated CV or resume of each artist involved in the project (3 pages max),
  3. Detailed Description of the Proposed Project (3 pages max) including:
  • the goals, outcomes, and perceived benefits of the project,
  • a list and/or description of potential community participants,
  1. Relevance of the Proposed Project to the overall goals and aims of the gender, family, and deindustrialization in particular and the DePOT partnership project in general (1 page max),
  2. Artistic Merit of the Proposed Project (1 page max) including professional development,
  3. A Timeline for the Realization of the Project (1 page max) indicating any significant “milestones” to be accomplished during the tenure of the project,
  4. A Detailed Budget listing Expenses and Revenues and including any funds requested or expected from other sources.
  5. Official acknowledgement of DePOT accountability statement: Deindustrialization and the Politics of Our Time is committed to an ethic of transparency and social justice in both its research initiatives and project management. All project staff, affiliates, co-investigators, collaborators and partners are responsible for upholding this ethic. Actions that place at risk the safety or well-being of any project participants, including (but not limited to) discrimination on the basis of class, race, gender, sexual identity, ability, and religion will thus not be tolerated.

Criteria for Adjudication

Projects will be adjudicated based on the following:

  • 40% – the degree to which the project is rooted in a deindustrialized community and addresses the research and overall goals of the gender, family, and deindustrialization thematic research area and the DePOT project — including sharing authority, engaging deindustrialized and post-industrial communities, linking local and transnational discussions
  • 40% – the artistic and social merits of the project including its potential for artistic innovation and growth, and its positive impact on both the artist(s) and community or communities involved,
  • 20% – the quality and thoughtfulness of the project’s overall planning and conception including presentation, background research, cultural competencies, timelines, outcomes, budgeting, resource management, etc.,

Completed Application forms can be sent via email to: deindustrialization@concordia.ca (please use “Artist-in-Residence Application” in the subject line). Working knowledge of either English or French is required. We encourage submission of applications in English or French, but also accept applications in German or Italian.

Proposals will be adjudicated by a panel of DePOT members including the co-chairs of the AIR committee and a representative of the thematic initiative. The AIR Adjudication Committee may seek advice from outside sources when it deems necessary.

Applicants are also welcome to electronically submit supplemental materials such as photos, journal or newspaper articles, reviews of their work etc.