Tender / Open Call

GRANTS FOR STRUCTURES THAT PROMOTE THE ARTS

A funding programme from “Wem gehört die Kunst?”

Netzwerk-X, Ringlokschuppen Ruhr and Urbane Künste Ruhr are seeking contextual structures that engage with art (“Art Context Structures”) and artist groups from the independent scene in the Ruhr area.

As part of our project “Wem gehört die Kunst?” (“To whom does art belong?”), we are developing a new funding model to enable sustained financing of continuous work structures for artistic and socio-cultural praxis instead of just funding short-term projects. We seek to fund exemplary working structures in the Ruhr area until February 2018, to collaborate on evaluating them, and to use the findings to propose to the state of North Rhine-Westphalia that for art and culture to thrive in the Ruhr region, financial support for such structures is needed!

What are art context structures?

Simply put, they are the structural conditions that usually make artistic productions possible in the first place. These include tangible items (such as room rental, heat, equipment, etc.), personnel costs, and the costs for organisational and communications work. The ability to administer one’s own grants to artists and their work is also included.

What we want to try…

Structural support as we conceive it cannot be awarded as part of our temporary art project. But we want to explore different elements of such support exemplarily by allowing existing art context structures to make changes and for each to ideally improve its own specific art-context practice. The grants will thus serve as exemplary projects at the micro-level for our work on a new funding model. The lessons learned will be used to realise the culture policies we will pursue.

At the same time, we do not want to lose sight of art production and will promote concrete artistic productions as part of this trial of a new funding programme. After all, the strengthening of art context structures should also include support for the arts.

What we want to fund…

What kind of support, currently only temporary, can improve your art context structure? These could be payments for structural work that would otherwise be done by volunteers or has even had to be postponed. Or it could be paying for those basic conditions that would allow you to think and work freely. Or it could be making meaningful purchases for your work in the art context. Or it could be a joint retreat for everyone involved in your structure. Or perhaps you want to pay a fixed salary to the artists who work with you instead of always having to put your hand out. Or you could initiate artistic projects in your context and allocate funds to them, for example, using the process of Joint Allocation that we have tried and tested.
We are thinking of these and similar examples as well as the immaterial and invisible work that needs to be done such as promoting solidarity and idealistic self-determination. We are very curious to hear what you think and what you need!

For the promotion of art productions, we are looking for project plans that address such issues as the precariousness of modern life, poverty, arts funding, the marketisation of art, art in capitalism, etc. or which themselves pursue an artistic research approach.

This means…

Artists’ groups, collectives, associations, places, initiatives, and other work structures with an art context are invited to apply by 15th November 2017 by sending a proposal and budget. This can either refer to a production project or consist of individual or several measures that would strengthen your art context structure. We have a total of €35,000 to award in this pilot project.

The structural projects must be implemented by the end of January 2018; collaborative evaluations will follow in February. An art production must be presented or performed by the end of February.

Every applicant may ask for personal advice as necessary and, if awarded the grant, will receive support into the evaluation process. The important thing is: the funds will be awarded (min. €2,000, max €8,000) on 18 November 2017 in a Joint Allocation process, which you can read about here. We look forward to your proposals!

Enquiring thoughts and support!

This call for tenders is part of a trial of our art-context-structures model. For this reason, we will provide support in research to all successful applicants. You should therefore be ready to be open and willing to participate in the consultative process. Your funding will serve as examples used for research purposes and, as such, are not completely open-ended.

In addition, during the project, you will be accompanied by mentors who can advise you, take care of billing details, and documentation. The evaluations and reflections of your experiences with regard to the cultural policy proposal for art-context funding will also be shared.

Questions?
If you have any questions, pick up the keyboard, pen, or phone and ask! We’re happy to provide you with advice and assistance!

Apply now online!

Contact:info@wemgehoertdiekunst.de

Tel: 0208-9931679

Anschrift:
Kultur im Ringlokschuppen e. V.
– Wem gehört die Kunst? –
Am Schloß Broich 38
45479 Mülheim