Animate Projects invites expressions of interest from early career artists working in animation to take part in our new programme, PLANTING.

We want to commission three artists to make short, animated films that explore our relationship to nature - cultivation, community, environment, and place. 

There is a £4,000 fee to cover all production costs and fees. Some additional travel expenses will be paid. Artists must be based in England.

Each artist will be paired with an organisation in Animate’s home town, Derby. They will undertake a period of research and development, engaging with the organisations and the people their work with, getting to know something of their ethos and activities, and exploring broader themes and contexts.

Inspired by, and in response to, these conversations, they’ll develop ideas, and make short films, that might relate to: the organisation, a broader movement/trend/activism that they are a part of, or connect with; something historical, sociological, ecological, political, scientific; data; or something else that resonates with the theme.

What are we looking for?

We are looking for artists who make visually strong, experimental animation and who are interested in engaging with our partners, and in making work that explores the PLANTING themes.

Whilst the work you make might have a documentary element, we are not looking for straightforward documentary, explainers, or promotional films. 

We want to commission distinct and varied approaches. We’re interested in digital, analogue and hybrid media and techniques eg drawn, collage, CG, photograpy, rotoscope, graphics, etc.

We want you to consider sustainability in your production process. Check out Cardiff Animation Festival’s Planet Positive initiative, with information and resources about what the animation industry can do to fight the climate crisis.

There’ll be curatorial and practical support, particularly around engaging communities, from the Animate team. PLANTING will involve visits to Derby and online meetings. We’ll ask artists to document their development and process, to share their experience with each other, and to take part in public presentations of the project.

We'd like the films to have a running time of up to three minutes including credits. They'll be shown at a public event in Derby, online and on Instagram. 

Eligibility

PLANTING is open to early career artists who:

• have experience of making experimental animation
• are interested in exploring the PLANTING themes
• are interested in engaging with the partners and the people they work with, and in being part of the project community and sharing their experience

Artists must be resident and able to work in England. Students in any formal education are not eligible.

PLANTING is for early career artists at a critical moment in developing their artistic practice, and offers curatorial and practical support, particularly around engaging communities from the Animate team. By “early career”, we mean artists who have gone some way to establishing their practice, and who have some had some professional and public showcasing experience, but who are still in the early stages of a career. We do not define “early career artist” by age, and we recognise that someone who has been practicing for several years, with breaks for personal reasons, may still be considered early career.

To apply

Please read these guidelines and the additional information about the programme and our partners.

Submit your expression of interest through CuratorSpace.

The deadline is 10:00, Monday 18 September.

We ask for: 

• Brief statements about your artistic practice and relevant experience, and telling us why you are interested in PLANTING, what approach you would take to participating in the programme, and for any thoughts you have on engaging with the partners and sustainable practice.
• An indication as to whether you have a preference for which of the partners you’d want to work with.
• A short CV (not more than two sides of A4)
• Links to relevant examples of previous work (up to three)

We are not asking for a fully developed treatment at this stage.

Please complete an equality monitoring form - the data is anonymous and used for monitoring only: https://forms.gle/1sLnNafsEKDdgZir8

If you have any questions, please contact us through CuratorSpace.

Artists will be selected in collaboration with our partners.

We expect to inform artists of our decision by 13 October 2023. We regret that we are unable to offer feedback.

We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds and  particularly encourage applications from individuals from low-income backgrounds, those who are ethnically diverse or disabled, and anyone else who considers themselves under-represented within the visual arts.

If you have any access needs, or barriers to access that you would like to discuss, please do not hesitate to let us know either before applying or as part of your application.

PLANTING timeline

2023

18 September: deadline for expressions of interest
13 October: artists selected
October/November: visit to Derby to meet with the partners and other artists
November – December: research and development, including conversations (real world and online) with respective partners and the people they work with

2024                                   

January: finalised film treatments shared with partners, pre-production
February – May: production, post, delivery
Summer: launch event in Derby, films launched on Instagram and Vimeo

Throughout the programme, we’ll schedule individual catch up meetings with each artist, and with all three.  

About Animate Projects

Animate champions experiment in animation. Its mission is to engage the public with the creativity and craft of the art form through developing new work, supporting artists to create thought provoking projects, engaging with audiences across digital and physical contexts, maintaining an extensive online archive and resource, advocacy and promoting critical debate.

PLANTING partners

Our PLANTING partners are local to Animate’s Derby base, in the neighbouring wards of Normanton and Rose Hill and Littleover.

Derby Arboretum is in Rose Hill, an inner city suburb 0.8 miles south of the city centre, which was urbanised in the late 19th century, it is characterised by high density terraced housing. Derbyshire Wildlife Trust’s Nextdoor Nature programme is working with partners in Normanton and Arboretum. Hannah Fields is in the village and suburb of Littleover, the other side of the Outer Ring Road to Normanton, and about three miles south west of the city centre.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derby
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arboretum_(ward)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normanton,_Derby
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Littleover

Friends of Derby Arboretum is a diverse group of local people who are passionate about the Arboretum. The Friends organise at least free public events each year, and also facilitate gardening, crafting and other activities and events for local people.

The Arboretum - a botanical tree garden for instruction as well as leisure - was Britain’s urban public park. It was commissioned and donated for the benefit of citizens of Derby in 1840, by businessman, social reformer and philanthropist Joseph Strutt (1765–1844) whose wealth came from the family textile business.

https://friendsofderbyarboretum.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/friendsofderbyarboretum/?locale=en_GB
https://www.inderby.org.uk/parks/derbys-parks-and-open-spaces/derby-arboretum/

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust supports wildlife and wild spaces, managing 46 nature reserves across the county, and working on over 170 conservation and wellbeing projects, restoring species like Byson and Beavers, habitats and bringing people from all walks of life closer to nature.

"A healthy natural environment is the foundation for everything that is of value to people – food, water, shelter, flood prevention, health, happiness and creative inspiration. It’s the source of our prosperity and our wellbeing. We want to inspire people about the natural world so that they value it, understand their relationship with it and take action to protect and restore it."

As part of the nationwide Nextdoor Nature programme, DWT is supporting people and communities on their green projects in Derby, including the creation of a Green Corridor between Normanton and Arboretum Park. Community Organiser, Adam Dosunmu Slater has connected with over 30 organisations in the city and is supporting them on their journeys to create a greener and wilder inner city of Derby.

https://www.derbyshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/
https://www.derbyshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/nextdoor-nature-food4thought
https://www.derbyshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/news/derby-communities-revive-green-spaces-boost-wildlife-and-wellbeing

Twitter: @DerbysWildlife
Instagram: derbyshirewildlifetrust
Facebook: DerbyshireWildlifeTrust

Hannah Fields began in 2018, taking a lease from the council on a two acre green site that had been unoccupied and unmanaged for over 25 years, left overgrown with brambles and used for fly tipping. It is now a thriving community garden, with a mission focused on reducing social isolation whilst nurturing and protecting our natural environment for the benefit of all, with an organic market garden, café and shop, and a range of nature and wellbeing activities, including a Forest School.

https://www.hannahfields.co.uk/
Instagram: hannahfieldsgarden
Facebook: hannahfieldscommunitygarden