FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMME:
2023 OPEN CALL
CiRCUS ARTSPACE are delighted to announce a call out to all early career artists based anywhere within the Highland region with a passion for contemporary visual art. There is no requirement for a degree in visual art. This opportunity is for artists who seek to gain advice, peer mentoring and first hand experience from an artist-run organisation.
During this Fellowship we have access to a large retail space within Inverness and the recipient is able to access this space as a studio or curate and host their own events. They can also get involved in: our Daylight project where young LGBTQ+ folk are collaborating with performance artist Gordon Douglas; as well as a new solo exhibition from Fionn Duffy at Eden Court.

Key dates
This Fellowship is approximately three months and will run from 17th April to 24th July 2023. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to take part in weekly online team meetings via Zoom as well as be part of our monthly in person peer review Studio Sessions.
This is a voluntary professional development opportunity supported by The Highland Society of London. The successful candidate will receive a £300 stipend to cover any out of pocket expenses for in-person meetings and events i.e. travel, lunch. This will be paid in £100 instalments at the start of each month.
Deadline: Monday 3rd April, 12noon (we will not be accepting late applications)
Successful candidates should be available for a short informal interview on Monday 17th April.
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What to expect
As a collective of practising artists and producers CiRCUS ARTSPACE can provide bespoke mentoring to assist emergent artists with the development of their creative practice, reaching new audiences and articulating longer-term future goals. During the Fellowship, you will become part of the core team; you will contribute to and gain experience in planning, promoting and delivering an artist-run creative programme alongside developing of your own practice and exchanging skills with the team.
Mentoring can provide you with an opportunity to think about how you might progress in your artistic career and get advice on professional development issues. You will benefit from our collective knowledge, insight and experience in the visual arts. Areas you might want to explore are (but aren’t limited to):
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getting feedback about your work;
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developing your making process and how you work as an artist;
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getting hands on experience of collaboration within a collective;
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making a strategy for your future career;
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finding out about artist-run projects;
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managing projects and working in the public realm;
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reviewing your online representation;
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guidance in proposing work for exhibition;
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fundraising as an individual or for a project;
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writing for your practice.
The Fellowship could culminate in a personal project, new work or an event to be developed under the guidance of the Circus collective. We hope successful applicants will develop their own professional practice through actively taking part in aspects of our projects, depending on their own interests. This could include helping with contemporary art exhibitions, participatory projects, peer learning, fundraising and marketing.
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How to apply
Please send us:
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a short written expression of interest (max 400 words) which should include a brief artist’s statement, how Circus can support you during the Fellowship, what interests or skills you bring to Circus, and what you would like to achieve by the end (ie. create new work, produce an event, gain workshop experience or work towards realising a current project);
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examples of recent work (6 jpgs or film links);
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an artistic CV (maximum 2 pages). There’s no specific experience we’re looking for in regards to your CV, we’re just interested to see what you’ve done!
Please supply these by email as one PDF file labelled ‘Firstname_Lastname_Fellowship’
Applications should be emailed to: hello@circus.scot
Please use the subject line “Fellowship 2023 Application” in your email.
Access
CiRCUS ARTSPACE is committed to equal opportunities and accessibility. We welcome applications equally regardless of ethnicity, religion, disability, social background, age, gender identity or sexual orientation. If you are facing any barriers or have additional access needs which stop you from applying, please get in touch.
For all queries email us at hello@circus.scot
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We look forward to hearing from you!
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