Open exclusively to current members of Spike Island Associates

Spike Island Associates are pleased to participate in The Exchange 2, an evolving project bringing together artists from across the UK, pairing peers from different networks and opening up space for new creative conversations.

Participating in The Exchange 2 are networks from Spike Island / Spike Island Associates; Eastside Projects / EOP; CAMP; Castlefield Gallery / Associates; The NewBridge Project; Primary and TURF.

Becoming part of The Exchange is an opportunity to begin a new creative exchange with an artist outside of your network, supported by a series of hosted events; developing new relationships and friendships between artists who might not otherwise be able to connect. This open-ended process has no limits or boundaries but is simply framed by the invitation to begin a discussion.

HOW IT WORKS
From an open call organised by each network, 8 practitioners will be selected from each organisation and paired with someone from another network. In total 56 artists will participate. There is no formal requirement to collaborate or generate an outcome and participants are able to communicate however they wish, at a frequency to suit the pairing. You will need to be self-motivated to organise conversations with your partner, and willing to put some time aside to regularly exchange. The programme starts in January and runs through to September when Primary will host a public sharing event.

Over the nine months, a series of networking events and artist-led activities for The Exchange artists will be hosted online with the partner organisations, with the aim of supporting artists, building networks and making further connections. As an optional part of the application process artists can propose an event they would like to share with the wider cohort. Each artist-led event has an available budget of £250 and the support of a host organisation. At the end of the nine months, we will host a summit which will be a public opportunity to share experiences, stories and, if appropriate, outcomes. Attendance for events is voluntary – but we expect you to attend at least two.

To participate, you must already be a member of Spike Island Associates (or another one of the partner networks), if you are not yet a member you can sign up today.

You will receive information on how to apply as part of your membership or you can contact associates@spikeisland.org.uk for more details.