Call for contemporary artists

AWESOME invites contemporary artists to submit proposals for the 2012 Creative Challenge, regional residency program, to be held in 12 remote and regional West Australian communities.

The Creative Challenge is a two-week artist-in-residence program that uses creativity to celebrate the rich cultural and environmental diversity of Western Australia. This program encourages young people to appreciate and understand their individual and collective identity by exploring and expressing the uniqueness of their local community. Being process-driven, it engages the young people in creative research, skill sharing and concept development to create and present artworks that represent and communicate these ideas of place and identity.

AWESOME’s target audience is aged 6 – 16 years and most residencies occur within schools. We are looking for contemporary artists in all fields, including but not limited to, performance, visual art, new media, dance or hybrid art, who are interested in community art.

The theme is “REMIX” and offers the opportunity to initially ‘make do’ with what is collected and available in the communities. This is a fun project that at the same time encourages the messages of ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’. Meanwhile allowing scope for participating artists to collaborate with the communities by utilizing a multitude of mediums and techniques, that challenges notions about ‘throwaway habits’.

There are two components of ‘Remix’, one will be using a kit known as ‘Makedo’ – a self-contained system of kid-friendly plastic connectors including a plastic saw for cutting. These components enable young people to PLAY, whilst turning everyday stuff into toys, objects, buildings and mobile devices. ‘Makedo’ is a Lego construction challenge except with otherwise once used and discarded things. The possibilities are endless not only in creating new objects but also in challenging the young people’s and communities notions of rubbish, as materials are repurposed into aesthetic uses.

The second component of the project would allow the opportunity for participating artists to more fully integrate their collaboration by including various aspects of remixing. These could include: – Dissecting famous stories and rewriting them into altered storylines and books – Remixing music tracks to create altered tunes – Utilising materials the artist uses to help young people create sculptural objects with recycled components; – Using materials to make usable designed objects – Combining elements of old-skool dance elements to create new style – Using infamous scenes or different genres of theatre together

The possibilities of remixing are endless and the project would allow for a wide range of artists.

We are seeking a variety of contemporary artists including but not limited to
visual artists, filmmakers, animators, costume designers, musicians and physical theatre/drama artists, dancers, sculptors, storytellers, illustrators, graphic designers.

Through a series of workshops during the residency we request that artists
stretch the boundaries of the imagination and provide positive creative
adventures for the young people in each community.

Please send a one-page curriculum vitae and a short email describing how you
would approach the theme of REMIX using your artistic practice and express your interest or experience working with regional/rural/remote communities and young people. Email Amanda Rowe, Community Cultural Development Manager, ccd@awesomearts.com by 5pm, 20th January 2012. Further information about Creative Challenge can be found at www.awesomearts.com or 9328 9666.