The National Festival of Making (NFM) and Super Slow Way (SSW) Invite Expressions of Interest from Artists for: Art in Manufacturing In 2019 we will commission six new artist residencies with up to three places available through this open call process. Art in Manufacturing is NFM's headline commissioning programme, pairing artists and/or makers with manufacturers in the North of England; giving artists a unique opportunity to work within an industry context. The programme, now in its third year has previously included collaborations with manufacturers working in food, textile, paper, plastic, cardboard, ceramics, wallpaper, textile, metal. Manufacturers will once again collaborate with artists, interlacing often traditional techniques and materials with challenging, contemporary ideas, with the new work to be revealed as part of the two day festival in Blackburn, Lancashire. Expression of Interest are being sought for the project which has 3 commissions at open call.

Call for Expression of Interest - Art in Manufacturing

The National Festival of Making and Super Slow Way are inviting Expressions of Interest from Artists for Season Three of Art in Manufacturing

In 2019 we will commission six new artist residencies for Season Three of Art in Manufacturing with up to three places available through this open call process. We are offering up to three residencies with a range of manufacturers during which time artists will make a new work to present as part of the programme at the National Festival of Making in June 2019. The commissioning programme, now in its third year has previously included residences with manufacturers working in food, textile, paper, plastic, cardboard, ceramics, wallpaper, textile, metal - partner manufacturing companies for 2019 will be announced in late 2018 and artists will be invited to work with a manufacturer where there is the most exciting shared opportunities for artistic collaboration.

About the National Festival of Making

The first National Festival of Making took place in Blackburn, Lancashire in 2017. The Festival celebrates our brilliant UK making industry, from kitchen table makers to master manufacturers and in May 2018 we welcomed 40,000 visitors to Lancashire for a wonderful explosion of making activities. The third National Festival of Making will take place on the 15th & 16th June, 2019. This is an opportunity to see, make and do for residents and visitors to Blackburn town centre as The Festival of Making takes over the streets with music, art, performance, tours, talks, markets, street food and above all, an eclectic mix of making experiences for everyone.

About The Art in Manufacturing

Deliberately set in the producing heartland of Blackburn, the festival will explore and celebrate the present day diversity in the range, scale and skills of UK-based making. Manufacturers large and small will collaborate with artists on a series of new commissions, interlacing often traditional techniques and materials with challenging, contemporary ideas, each to be revealed as part of the two day, town centre festival. Art in Manufacturing, a collaboration between the National Festival of Making and Super Slow Way - an arts programme in Pennine Lancashire and one of Arts Council England’s ‘Creative People & Places schemes’, pairs artists and makers with manufacturers and domestic artisans and gives artists access to specialist machinery, expertise, materials and heritage craft techniques to create new work that forms an integral part of the National Festival of Making programme, presented in the public realm and in Blackburn’s most historic and most contemporary venues.

Previously commissioned artists include James Bloomfield, Dawinder Bansal, Lazerian, Liz West, Martyn Ware, Michelle Wren, Jamie Holman, Hannah Fox, Nicola Ellis and Ruth Jones. They have made incredible work in collaboration with manufacturers and their communities across sculpture, film, dance, sound, print and installation that have been featured in the media including in DesignBoom, BBC Breakfast News, Corridor 8, The Big Issue.

You can find out more about all the artists, partner manufacturers and residencies by visiting Season One and Season Two on our website - www.festivalofmaking.co.uk

In Season Three we are interested in hearing your imaginative, sensitive, bold and ambitious ideas for an artistic residency with a manufacturer, where you will make new work. We’d like to hear from artists and makers with a practice which may reflect the following -

● An interest in making in a heritage context - craftsmanship and traditional making

● An interest in the future of manufacturing, advanced technologies and new digital works

● Artist / makers who are interested in engaging with unique, often industrial processes, products and making methods

● Artists who make work in the public realm

● Artists that engage communities collaboratively in the making of new work

● Work that engages audiences within a festival setting

We are looking to create exceptional cross-disciplinary collaborations and residencies so responses from artists / makers working in any art form is welcome. Projects have seen artists work in-situ with manufacturers for more intense periods over a number of weeks or work within an agreed residency schedule of one to two days per weeks over a longer timeline. Each programme of work is agreed with the commissioner and manufacturer dependent on the artists availability and location, and the specific industries preference.

Budget: 3 Commissions available via the open call process: Fixed fee of £4750 The commission total should include materials and installation / decommission costs but does not include any core materials which are negotiated by the producing team ‘in kind’ from the manufacturer.

Some expenses support is available, within your application please indicate the cost of travel and accommodation.

How to Apply: To avoid the necessity for artists to provide extensive information as part of the open call we request the following - 500 word expression of interest on why you would like to take part in Art in Manufacturing With reference to:

● What attracts you to this commission

● Outline of your interest in working with manufacturing technologies and / or materials

● Experience and interest in engaging with communities in a participatory setting

● Experience or interest in presenting artwork within the public realm and festival setting

● Please provide links to your work online on a website, in articles or Instagram, with reference where possible to projects, commissions or elements of your practice that have the most relevance to Art in Manufacturing.

If you would prefer not to share online links please share a PDF document with visual examples of your work - PDF no more than 10mb or no more than 4 jpegs in the online form . If you would like to submit your Expression of Interest in a different format due to personal access reasons please contact us.

Please send questions and Expressions of Interest through Curator Space with ‘Art in Manufacturing Expression of Interest’ in the title.

Questions are welcome and will be answered as soon as possible and you will receive a confirmation email on receipt of your Expression of Interest. If your ideas compliment the industry partnership and festival programmes you will be invited for a short interview in Lancashire, or by Skype.

Key Dates

Open Call Deadline: 5pm on Wednesday 19th December

Residency Dates: Between February to June 2019, to be determined with the festival and individual artist and manufacturer.

National Festival of Making Event Dates: 15th & 16th June 2019

Further Reading - found out more about:

The National Festival of Making

Super Slow Way

Art in Manufacturing Season Two

Art in Manufacturing Season One