Accentuate

Expression of Interest Call for Up-Stream – a South East Disabled and Deaf Artist Showcase 2011

Artists and creatives are invited to express their interest in being considered for a programme of showcase opportunities to take place in the summer of 2011, presented by Dada-South. Up-Stream will represent the work of Deaf and disabled artists and creatives from across the South East region.

Up-Stream aims to present the best, innovative or new work of artists and creatives from across the creative art forms of visual art, the performing arts of music, dance and theatre, alongside literature, poetry and combined media. It will provide an opportunity for the work of disabled and Deaf artists to reach new audiences and engage in thriving cultural events and programmes.

The artists and creatives that are selected to take part in the Up-Stream Showcase programme, will each receive a project fee of £ 2,500. Up-Steam will provide the materials and equipment required to develop and present their work at the Showcase, a professional development programme, plus access and interpretation, technical production and event management, travel and other expenses. 

The showcase presentations will be attended by regional, national and international promoters, curators, programmers, producers from venues, festivals and galleries from across the UK and abroad, who programme work in a diversity of locations including indoor spaces and venues, outdoor spaces, and in other forms such as digital and other media.

This project will take its lead from artists, and their definitions recognising that the experience of disability can change and that individuals engage with their experiences of disability in diverse ways.

 

Am I Eligible?

To qualify for Up-Stream you must;

• be either creating your work or living in the South East region.  The region is the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, West Sussex; and unitary authorities of Bracknell Forest, Brighton & Hove, Medway Towns, Milton Keynes, Portsmouth, Reading, Slough, Southampton, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wokingham. 
• align yourselves with our interpretation of disability. This is deliberately broad and includes; 
• People who define themselves as disabled or Deaf
• People who feel disabled
• People who are provided for under the Disability Discrimination Act*
• People with hidden impairments
• People who don’t necessarily define themselves as disabled but have impairments or ongoing health conditions
• Mental health system users
• People with fluctuating impairments

• People who have had impairments in the past but no longer have them

• The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) defines a disabled person as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

Showcase bursaries for the selected artists and creatives will be offered to support the preparation or development needed for presentation in 2011.

Submitting Your Expression of Interest

Please send us an expression of interest outlining the following:

• Your full contact details including your name, address, telephone number, mobile/SMS number, email address and website (if applicable). 
• A statement about your current artistic practise, why you would like to participate in Up-Stream and your aspirations for your future creative work. 
• Please also send us up to 10 still or moving images, sound files, or links to websites that show or represent your work. All images, sound files and moving images sent must be by email and be under a total of 10 mega bytes in size or by post on a CD/DVD.
• Please include a short CV resume about your creative practise, including any previous experience, exhibitions or presentations you have made of your work.
• Please confirm that you are living or creating your work predominantly in the South East region.
• Please confirm that you align yourself with our interpretation of disability.
• Please also complete Dada-South’s Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form. 

Please send us your expression of interest in no more than 700 words in the following formats: as an A4 document as an email attachment, as a sound file, DVD or as an email.

The deadline for Expressions of Interest is:   6.00 pm on Friday 3rd September 2010. 

We prefer expressions of interest to be emailed to us at:   up-stream@dada-south.org.uk

or posted to: Dada-South, Suite G14, Springfield House, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 2LP

Up-Stream is led by Dada-South, the agency for disabled and Deaf artists in the South East. Dada-South supports Deaf and disabled artists through the provision of inclusive and innovative opportunities and through investment in their creativity, enabling their practice to grow and to develop a dynamic profile and reputation for excellence.

If you require further information, please contact Robin Morley, Creative Producer for Up-Stream by email robin@dada-south.org.uk

 

‘Our View Project Person’ Freelance Disability Adviser Role

Disabled or Deaf Freelance Adviser required for three Accentuate projects managed by the Arts Council: Sync SE, Go Public, Up-Stream.

We are seeking to appoint a disabled or Deaf freelance Disability Adviser who can support the development and delivery of these three projects. Based within the South East region, the Adviser will work closely with the Arts Council Diversity in Arts Practice Relationship Manager to ensure that this involvement process makes as much impact as possible to the work of the Arts Council, Accentuate and the project delivery organisations.

A particular focus of the role is to look at how the projects are engaging with the mainstream arts world and non disabled people. This is both a key current issue for the Disability Arts sector as a whole and for the projects.

Our View

There is an Our View Core Group to advise on the work of Accentuate as a whole and Our View Project Persons to inform the delivery of specific projects (this role).

Our View aims:

• reflect and show authentic disabled involvement in practice
• offer genuine and informed support for Accentuate projects so that they can be examples of best inclusive practice
• provide a route and means for disabled and Deaf people to gain the necessary position and clout to influence and change things
• offer a route for possible employment
• provide ‘Ambassadors’ for Accentuate
• provide a “two-way” resource for both the agencies involved and disabled and Deaf people

Sync SE

Sync is a programme of continuous professional development for selected disabled and Deaf artists and associated organisations in the region to increase the potential for leadership and to increase the sustainability and capacity of those involved. This project is being delivered by ADA Inc.

www.syncsoutheast.co.uk

Go Public

Go Public builds upon excellence gained through previous projects to commission disabled and Deaf artists to make work in the public realm. This project is being delivered by Dada-South and Art Point.

http://www.dada-south.org.uk/projects-go-public.php

Up-Stream

Dada-South will be delivering a series of showcasing opportunities for disabled and Deaf artists in and around the South East. This programme will infiltrate existing arts infrastructures to ensure that disabled and Deaf people's creative achievements achieve the attention and accolade they deserve.

http://www.dada-south.org.uk/showcasing.php

Freelance Adviser’s role

The adviser appointed would be responsible for

• Liaising with the Arts Council Diversity in Arts Practice Relationship Manager to confirm a schedule of work

•  Working with the delivery organisations to develop a methodology to assess the degree to which the projects are engaging with the mainstream and non disabled people

• Sitting on quarterly progress meetings between the Arts Council , Dada-South, ADA Inc and Accentuate 

• Sitting on the Steering Committees for Go Public and Up-Stream
• Attend external events delivered by Sync SE, Go Public and Up-Stream.
• in order to get detailed knowledge of the projects and to feed in expertise and any findings around reach.
• Attending four Our View events. Contributing to the wider Our View group, for example through contributing to the blog and online forums.
• Produce an interim report, and a final report and accounts at the end of the grant. 

The interim and final reports will be conditions of the Arts Council grant but the final report will also include an accessible means of capturing the learning from the role and creating a legacy.

Experience and personal skills needed

• Proven understanding of disability equality
• Experience of working with disabled and Deaf people on creative projects
• Experience of contributing to formal and informal meetings
• Excellent communication skills
• Ability to work flexibly
• Knowledge of the disability arts sector and / or of the mainstream arts sector
• Ideally based in the South East

Our interpretation of disability:

• People who define themselves as disabled or Deaf
• People who feel disabled
• People who are provided for under the Disability Discrimination Act*
• People with hidden impairments
• People who don’t necessarily define themselves as disabled but have impairments or ongoing health conditions
• Mental health system users
• People with fluctuating impairments
• People who have had impairments in the past but no longer have them

 

• The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) defines a disabled person as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

Time scale, Fees and Contract

The grant will be managed by Arts Council England and is expected to run from 1 October 2010 to 31 December 2011.

The total fee is £3,000 including expenses.

The expected rate is £200 / day with the days worked flexibly over the period in agreement with ACE.

The Our View Project Manager will be available to discuss what access needs you might have and then explore ways how these can be met. The individual's access costs will be covered where possible by Access to Work. There will be support available to ensure these costs are met and to explore alternatives if Access to Work is not available. Access requirements to attend Our View events will be met by Our View.

The person selected will have the status of a grant recipient and will be responsible for their own tax and national insurance.

The deadline for applications is:   6pm on Tuesday 31 August 2010.