UAL Decolonising Arts Institute: 20/20 Call for Artists

20 collections, 20 commissions: We're working with 20 UK collection partners to invite 20 emerging or mid-career ethnically diverse artists of colour to take up paid residencies over the next 3 years.

Eligibility: The call is open to emerging or mid-career artists of colour, with a demonstrable track record of professional practice, and the right to work in the UK. You may identify as ‘emerging’ or ‘mid-career’ by your own criteria, which may include years out of college, employment breaks, career breaks or career changes. You may also choose to identify as a ‘person of colour’ or not, and/or prefer other terms of reference as suggested by the #BAMEover statement for the UK, which rejects acronyms and calls for the specific recognition of people from different diasporas and diverse cultures and heritages. We further note that the term ‘artists of colour’ fails to make explicit the complexity of lived experiences of inequality, for example where racism intersects with gender, class and disability discrimination. We acknowledge that ‘professional practice’ may not be continuous, and ‘relevant experience’ may be complexly defined.

What you get: Each participating artist will undertake a 15-month virtual residency with a host collection. The first cohort of artists will take up their residency in summer 2022. The second cohort of artists will take up their residency in spring 2023. Each artist will receive a fee of £10,000 (inclusive of VAT) to research, develop and produce a new work that engages with the host collection partner, in agreement with the 20/20 Director and host partner. The fee will include the commissioning and acquisition of a new work by the artist into the host collection, in conversation and agreement with the artist. This process will be facilitated by UAL and informed by the Advisory Group recommendations. The fee will also cover participation in public programme activities and end of project evaluation. Artists will also receive a research, development and production budget of up to £15,000 (inclusive of VAT). This will include up to £1,000 towards the production of a limited-edition print that will form part of 20/20 print portfolio to be gifted to each collection. Artists will be supported by the 20/20 team at the UAL Decolonising Arts Institute as well as named curatorial and collections staff at each partner institution. The 20/20 team will provide directorial, pastoral, project management and administrative support to the relationship between the artists and collections. While the residencies are largely virtual, collection partners welcome physical site visits and may be able to provide limited work and research space. The host collection will: Assign an institutional mentor and identify key organisations contacts to support the artist Introduce the artist to the organisation’s relevant key staff at all levels Check in regularly with the artist to address pastoral, research or collections access needs.