South West

Artist Brief

 

ArtReach seeks up to six local artists to join its team for July/August 2012.

 

A fee of £30 per hour/ £180 per day, to include travel expenses, will be paid.

 

Closing date for Applications: Friday 8 June.

(Please send in your application ahead of the deadline where possible)

 

Interviews will be held on Thursday 14th June in Bath (no other date is possible so please keep free). Artists will be contracted immediately thereafter.

 

About

The Bath and North East Somerset Rio Carnival Quest project is linked to the Paralympics Flame Celebration taking place in Bath on Saturday 25 August 2012. It will be delivered over the summer with an exciting programme of carnival workshops, culminating in a processional performance in Bath city centre. The carnival will celebrate and mark both the commencement of the Paralympics Games and the handover of the Olympic baton from London to Rio de Janeiro.

 

ArtReach (www.artreach.biz) has been contracted to manage the project, working with its specialist partners Mandinga Arts and Paraiso Samba. Mandinga is tasked with designing the costumes for the carnival and with directing the procession. Paraiso will provide development support for Bath-based group Jamma de Samba, helping it to enhance its exciting repertoire of samba performance. 

 

This special programme will be an opportunity for community participants to join together as part of a Quest project, helping design, make and animate Brazilian style costumes, and to learn and perform the rhythms and music of samba and Rio. The recruited local artists will take responsibility for leading the workshop sessions, supporting the making, and managing designated groups of participants across the five weeks of the project, through to the final procession on 25 August.

 

Workshop Programme

A carnival base will be established from late July at the Gateway Centre, London Road, Bath and fifty-five participants recruited from local communities. There is scope for other community participants to help prepare costumes and to take part in samba workshops. Fifteen local young people will be recruited to participate from Keynsham where a programme of workshops will take place at St John’s Community Hall. A costumed section of fifteen, comprising a range of ages, will be created in Radstock, and there will be a series of workshops in Peasedown with the aim to recruit another group of young people for costumed participation in the carnival procession. 

 

The carnival costume prototypes for each carnival section and the animation movement will be designed and choreographed by Mandinga Arts (www.mandingaarts.co.uk). Local artists are being recruited to lead and project manage the making sessions (to include creating patterns from the prototype, cutting the fabrics and sewing, marking up foam sheets, heat forming and hot gluing to assemble elements) and animation sessions for each costumed section. This will be initiated with a Mandinga introductory workshop and artist master-class to teach the costume templates and animation. Further input from Mandinga at scheduled points across the programme, will provide ongoing support.

 

Mandinga Arts will then be in residency at the end of the project when participants come together at a Bath assembly hub – The Holburne Museum - to rehearse and prepare for the procession.

 

Job Description

 

It is anticipated up to six artists will be recruited, depending on availability and skills. Artists may apply who are interested in leading costume making and/or animation. Artists with skills in both areas are welcome to apply but we are happy to receive applications to lead either on costume making OR animation.

 

It is hoped that there is a positive development opportunity for the artists who are recruited, with a chance to learn from the experience of Mandinga’s Artistic Director.

 

1) Costume making

 

Each local artist will be responsible for project managing their dedicated carnival section of participants, teaching the making skills and developing skills to create 15 costumes which participants will wear and animate for the carnival procession.

 

The selected artists will lead a series of two-hour costume-making workshops (likely to be circa five per costumed section). There will be four sections in Bath (a young peoples group, a women’s group and two mixed aged groups), one in Radstock (family group) and one in Keynsham (young people). The Peasedown section of young people will run to a different format and comprise one introduction session and three animation workshops.

 

An artist will also be recruited to work with a group of 10 ‘Wheels for All’ participants who will take part in the parade on adapted bikes, with the group working from design templates to create pieces to dress the riders and embellish the bikes.

 

Artists should be available for the duration of the project from 23rd July through to 25th August. The minimum commitment will be to one half-day master-class and up to two 2hr workshop sessions per week across the five weeks. In the final week additional time will be required for rehearsal on the Thursday and Friday when Mandinga Arts will be in residence, and for the full day of the carnival on 25th August. However, depending upon availability and range of skills the role could extend to working across two venues – e.g. with the young people in Bath and young people in Keynsham.

 

A series of taster Samba sessions will also form part of the programme, facilitated by Bath based group Jamma de Samba. These will be open to workshop participants and the wider community.

 

Mandinga carnival make-up workshops will provide an opportunity for local artists to develop these skills to then assist with the making-up of participants on the day of the parade.

 

2) Animation

 

Each local artist will be responsible for cascading performance and animation skills to one or more of the local participant groups, teaching the skills that give participants the confidence to wear and animate costumes for the carnival procession. Template choreography will be provided by Mandinga Arts.

 

The selected artists will lead a series of two-hour workshops (likely to be two per costumed section). There will be four sections in Bath (a young peoples group, a women’s group and two mixed aged groups), one in Radstock (family group) and one in Keynsham (young people). The Peasedown section of young people will run to a different format and comprise one introduction session and three animation workshops.

 

Artists should be available for the duration of the project from 23rd July through to 25 August. The minimum commitment will be to one half-day master-class and up to two workshop sessions across the five weeks. In the final week additional time will be required for rehearsal on the Thursday and Friday, when Mandinga Arts will be in residence, and for the full day of the carnival on 25th August. However, depending upon availability and range of skills, the role could extend to working across two venues – e.g. with the young people in Bath and young people in Keynsham.

 

Person Specification

Those appointed will need experience of delivering community arts workshops, specifically in costume making and or movement/animation across a range of age groups and abilities and from a variety of backgrounds.

 

Artists leading the making workshops will be required to have some dressmaking skills to include basic pattern cutting to knowledge of sewing and over-locking. Artists leading the animation workshops should have a dance background and experience of leading movement workshops.

 

Artists will need experience in project management of workshop programmes and where appropriate experience of supporting making and the development of skills in making.

 

A Driving Licence and access to a vehicle will be an advantage as will evidence of current enhanced CRB clearance. 

 

Further information and how to apply

To apply please send your C.V. and covering letter expressing why you wish to be involved in this project, the skills and experience you could bring to the project, relating to the project brief and person specification, and the specific age groups you have experience of working with. Please also note the area or areas you are able to realistically work in (namely central Bath, Radstock, Keynsham or Peasedown). Please note if you also have an interest in carnival make-up.

 

A fee of £30 per hour/ £180 per day, to include travel expenses, will be paid to those contracted. The total fee will be determined by the extent to which the artist is involved across each carnival section within Bath centre/ Radstock, Keynsham and Peasedown.

 

Appointed artists will need to have been through an enhanced CRB check. Please indicate if you have been through the clearance process. If not, then you may still apply but will need to commit to undertaking clearance through ArtReach.

 

Please send your CV and Letter of Application to: poppy@artreach.biz

 

Closing date Friday 8 June (please send in your application ahead of the deadline where possible)

 

Interviews will be held on Thursday 14th June in Bath. Artists will be contracted immediately thereafter.

 

We hope you will be interested in taking part in this exciting project! If you need any more information, or want to clarify any aspect of the Brief, then please phone Poppy or David at ArtReach on 01628 675800.