The Artspace Mentorship Programme is calling for nominations for artists in the Gauteng area wishing to be considered for the 2012/2013 programme cycle. Nominations will close on 9 September 2012.
Only hard copy nominations will be accepted delivered in person to one of the following addresses:
- Artspace, 1 Chester Court, 142 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood, Rosebank. Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 5.30pm, Saturday, 10am to 3.30pm. No later than 8 September at 3pm
- Artspace, Booth 28 at the Joburg Art Fair, Sandton Convention Centre, 6 to 9 September, 2012, daily between 11am and 3pm.
The programme is fully sponsored by Artspace and is only open to artists in the Gauteng area.
Rather than an opportunity for an artist fresh from study, this is an opportunity for visual artists who have been working on developing their artistic voice for some time and are ready for their first solo exhibition at a contemporary commercial gallery.
The programme will select a minimum of one or a maximum of two candidates who will work intensively toward a solo exhibition at Artspace.
Work closely with an appointed mentor
Successful candidates will work closely with an appointed mentor towards a fully sponsored solo exhibition at Artspace. The mentor will be an established artist who is well placed to push both the mentee's artistic practice and provide insights on building a successful career through their own experience. Additional programme elements include training on professional practice in the visual arts as well as guidance, and studio visits from independent curators.
The main objective of the programme is to identify contemporary artists who are ready to engage with the market and industry at the next level and give them exposure to working within the gallery system.
The programme will run on an 18-month cycle, as this will give artists the benefit of working with their mentor for a concentrated period of time, which will facilitate their producing a new body of work for their solo exhibition.
Criteria
Only the following artists are eligible:
- Artists who have not yet had a solo exhibition at a commercial gallery in South Africa and who are not committed to an exhibition within this timeframe. (Project room exhibitions are not considered commercial exhibitions for this programme.)
- Artists who are residents of Gauteng and able to meet the transport requirements of the programme (and working with Gauteng based mentors)
- Artists who are prepared to commit to the duration of the programme and who are available for the necessary studio visits and workshops. (Artists who are employed may apply, but need to commit to the requirements of the programme.)
- Artists who are prepared to commit to representation by the gallery for a period of three to five years after the programme. While this is not guaranteed, the programme is designed to allow the gallery to identify artists who they would like to work with on an ongoing basis and bring into a stable of artists represented by Artspace. Consideration by the gallery to represent the artists would be done following the closure of the programme and would be an agreement between both parties. The basis of this relationship would be that Artspace works on a committed career development plan with the artists that would consider the artists growth and development. The plan would include, but not be limited to, solo exhibitions at the gallery in that period and consideration of other strategic opportunities and inputs for the artists. A marketing plan would form part of this process.
Application requirements
- Full CV
- Profile/biography (maximum 500 words)
- An artist's statement (maximum 500 words). This artist statement should contextualise your work to date (and not be about a specific work or body of work). We are looking to gain insights into the concerns that you are dealing with, the medium you use and the content of your work
- A motivation of why you would be appropriate for this programme and for Artspace. It is important to illustrate that you understand where Artspace fits in terms of the contemporary art market in South Africa and how your work is appropriate to this gallery
- Images: These should be provided on a CD or printed. Please provide no less than five images and no more than 15. The images should be accompanied by captions. We are looking to see your development through key works of your career/practice to date
- Identify a contemporary South African artist who you would like to be mentored by and why. (There is no guarantee that we will contact or secure these artists but the aim of the question is to also ensure that you illustrate an understanding of the mentoring process and what benefits it may offer.)
Once all entries have been received, the panel will shortlist candidates who will be invited for an interview at the gallery. Shortlisted candidates will be privately interviewed by our independent advisor. The independent advisor is a professional artist that has had exposure to the programme and who is also familiar with the rigours of an art career and will advise the panel on the candidate's readiness for the opportunity.
Although two to three mentors were selected in the past, the programme reserves the right only to appoint mentees who are suited to the programme. The panel's decision is final and no further correspondence will be entered into.
