A joint initiative between Visiting Arts, Arts Council England, The National Endowment for Culture and the Arts in Taiwan and the British Council, Taipei.

As part of Visiting Arts’ ongoing commitment to providing a variety of opportunities for UK and overseas artists Visiting Arts is announcing the Taiwan-UK Artists Fellowship Programme 2003. The programme is open to application from artists based in the UK and Taiwan.

The programme is for three artists based in England working in the fields of digital arts, music and dance. The three artists that are selected will be given a three-month residency in Taiwan. Concurrently, three Taiwanese artists working in the same art forms will be given a three-month residency in England. One of the Taiwanese artists will join the DRU International Residency Programme during 2004.

AIMS
The programme aims:
• To enhance and build on existing artistic links between the UK and Taiwan
• To encourage and support the development of new collaborations between Taiwanese and English artists working in digital arts, music and dance and between arts organisations in Taiwan and England working in such disciplines.
• To support in a concrete manner the interest of the National Endowment for Culture and Arts, Arts Council England, the British Council Taipei and Visiting Arts to develop stronger cultural links between England and Taiwan.

OBJECTIVES
• Providing artists with a new and challenging environment in which to experiment and create new work.
• Raising awareness of contemporary English art practice in Taiwan and of contemporary Taiwanese art practice in England.

TIMING
The three-month residencies will take place from February – April 2004. Residencies will be run simultaneously in the UK and Taiwan with an overlap period at the beginning and end, allowing the artists involved to meet.

ELIGIBILITY
The Taiwan-UK Artists Fellowship programme is open to artists who are based and working in Taiwan and England. However, applications from artists residing elsewhere in the UK will also be considered.

PLEASE NOTE
Applications cannot be accepted on an open submission basis; the programme is only open to artists working in music, dance and digital media. They must come through a recommendation from a recognised institution, curator/critic, gallery and/or cultural contact in the country.

SELECTION CRITERIA
• A minimum of 2 years experience as a practising artist
• Some international experience in the artistic field
• A body of exhibited, produced or published work
• A demonstrable commitment to contemporary issues and methodologies
• A high quality of practice

Selected Taiwanese artists will be required to have a proficient level of English language [successful candidates may be interviewed for English proficiency by British Council Taipei]. Although this is not essential, UK artists with a level of Chinese [Mandarin and/or Taiwanese] are particularly encouraged to apply.

It is also suggested that artists are able to demonstrate:
• A willingness to communicate and share ideas, knowledge and information
• A commitment to developing artistic links between Taiwan and the UK
• A flexible, adaptable, positive and confident personal style
• The ability to work independently and to be resourceful, responsible and calm under pressure
• Sufficient maturity to fit into a foreign environment

Although artists are required to have some international experience, those who have previously undertaken an artists residency in either the UK or Taiwan, will not be eligible to take part in this programme.

NOMINATION AND SELECTION PROCESS
Key contacts with extensive knowledge of the each arts sector and experience of Taiwan and the UK will advise, encourage and mediate submitted applications from artists based there. A small selection committee will then consider and select the artists to take part in the residencies.

The small selection committee will review application materials and recommendations. The committee will include representatives from the partner organisations as well as an artist and/or curator with knowledge and experience of the Taiwan and the UK, and the selected host organisations.

RESIDENCY HOSTS
Three hosts in each country will be selected prior to the artists selection, they will help with the artist nomination and selection process, and will be selected themselves on criteria including:
• Some previous experience or knowledge of hosting international artists residencies
• The professional and pastoral resources they are able to provide the artist in residence
• Their interest in developing artistic collaborations between the UK and Taiwan

Hosts in the UK, who will receive the three artists from Taiwan, are confirmed as:

• Dance City, Newcastle
• Sage Gateshead
• Digital Research Unit, The Media Centre, Huddersfield.

The Taiwanese hosts will be confirmed in early September 2003.

FACILITIES
The residency covers a return international airfare, limited travel costs in the hosting country, accommodation and per diems for the duration of the three-month residency. It also includes studio/working space and access to and use of specialist facilities. More detailed facility information on each selected host organisation will be available.

APPLICATION
Applications must include the following material:
• Up to 10 examples of recent work, which depending on the discipline involved, can be submitted as a video (must be VHS) slides, jpegs, mpegs, catalogues, photos, mp3s on CD or Cdrom or references to a website.
[Please ensure that you include information each piece of work/material submitted]
• An artists’ statement explaining the work and the issues with which it deals
• A letter outlining the reasons for interest in the residency, how it will benefit artistic practice and what is hoped will be achieve
• A letter of recommendation from a person who is familiar with the applicant’s work
• An up-to-date Curriculum Vitae (including date of birth, education and training undertaken and listing exhibitions/shows, awards, publications etc.)
• A description of a recent piece of work carried out, outlining (a) how it came about (b) what the response was to the initial proposal (c) a description/explanation of the work
• A recent photograph

Please note that, unfortunately, application materials cannot be returned to applicants (successful or unsuccessful) and materials submitted by selected artists may be used for press and promotion purposes.

DEADLINE
If you would like to apply please complete the form and return it with the necessary materials [listed above] to:

Lara Riley, Training Programmes Manager, Visiting Arts
Bloomsbury House, 74-77 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DA
E-mail: [email protected]
Direct line: + 44 (0) 207 291 1618
Fax: + 44 (0) 207 291 1616

Download the form [Word .doc] here.

Deadline for artist applications: 31 October 2003

Decisions will be announced on: 19 November 2003

Further information please contact either of the above.

Visiting Arts - Cultural Relations through the arts
Visiting Arts is the national agency for promoting the flow of international arts into the UK and developing related cultural links abroad to help build cultural awareness, positive cultural relations and fostering mutually beneficial arts contacts at national, regional, local and institutional levels.

Visiting Arts activities include advice, information, training, consultancy, publications, special projects and project development, and covers the performing arts, visual, applied and media arts, crafts, design, literature, film, architecture and some museum activity.
Visiting Arts is an independent educational charity [Registered in England as a charity number 1085506] jointly funded by Arts Council England, the Scottish Arts Council, the Arts Council of Wales, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British Council. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport also provides support.

11 Portland Place, London, W1B 1EJ
Tel: +44 (0) 207 389 3019
Fax: +44 (0) 207 389 3016
[email protected]
www.visitingarts.org.uk

The Arts Council England
Arts Council England is the national development agency for the arts in England, distributing public money from Government and the National Lottery.

Between 2003 and 2006 Arts Council England aims to invest £2 billion of public funds in the arts in England, including funding from the National Lottery. The ambition of Arts Council England is to place the arts at the heart of national life, reflecting the country's rich and diverse cultural identity as only the arts can.

Arts Council England International Artists Fellowships
Today, there is a real hunger for British artistic work overseas as well as for in-coming international practice. Yet, across the arts, there are few opportunities for professional artists to undertake research abroad free from immediate production demands of a commission, exhibition or performance. Since September 2001, the Arts Council has been running a pilot programme of over thirty five international fellowships, underpinning its commitment to the individual artist and to cultural diversity. Although geo-political forces are strong, presenting challenges for a programme such as this, the primary goal is to facilitate artists’ interaction with artistic 'hot-spots' in the world. It is clear that artists’ careers benefit tremendously from international exchange and collaborative practice alongside other international artists and within different cultural contexts. As the Fellowships become established, reciprocal fellowships and residencies are being set up in England.

14 Great Peter Street
London SW1P 3NQ
Phone: 020 7333 0100
Fax: 020 7973 6590 / Textphone: 020 7973 6564
www.artscouncil.co.uk