ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY

MarketPlace is excited to launch Light Up The Town, an ambitious light art project across Fenland and West Suffolk. MarketPlace is a Creative People and Places project funded by Arts Council England through the National Lottery. We are about making  more people take the lead in shaping, creating and taking part in arts and culture experiences in the places where they live. MarketPlace embraces the unusual and unique rural landscapes of Fenland region of Cambridgeshire and the Forest Heath area of West Suffolk. We work with communities giving them an equal role at the heart of decision making about the type of arts events they want to see in the places where they live. 

WHAT EXPERIENCE DO YOU NEED?

This opportunity is open to individuals, collectives and organisations, from the local area or further afield. You will need to travel to/across the Fenland and West Suffolk area for programme delivery. We invite applications from UK based artists and practitioners who may be working in light art or other media. We actively encourage applications from artists whose enthusiasm for taking part may exceed their current experience in light art.

Essential skills required:

●Some experience in co-creation/ workshop facilitation/ community-led practices

● Adaptability to adjust event/programme plans to suit the community’s interests

● Accessibility: Confidence in working with diverse ages and backgrounds

WHERE

The work will be co-created with our communities in each of our 7 towns in Fenland (Chatteris, March, Wisbech, Whittlesey) and West Suffolk (Brandon, Mildenhall, Newmarket). The final works will be exhibited in each town. The location of the workshops depends on your commissioning idea. Potential venues for activity could be street corners, public parks, libraries, leisure centres, museums or pubs. We do not have a venue but we will work with the successful applicant to identify and support in accessing suitable venues/spaces for delivery. 

YOUR PROPOSAL

We are interested in hearing different ways of developing and trialling creating light art through in-person workshops. The workshops will be delivered for seven different groups, in seven different locations, with one day at each location. Your delivery schedule should be planned to suit your project, maximise engagement, and might  include weekend activity. All activities will be completely free of cost to participants. We are testing working with light in these towns and have historically worked with lantern parades, but are now exploring semi permanent light installations. You might work in projection, light art, technology, The work must consider logistics, be easily powered and be installed in one day.

• The workshop will need to be designed and delivered for groups of any age and ability

• The workshop will need to have the flexibility to be delivered in a range of locations, environments (e.g. community spaces, village halls, museums).

• The workshops need to consider that the work will be made  for presentation around town at outdoor sites and venues

• We welcome ambitious proposals

• Your planning and delivery will be supported by the MarketPlace team and you will work closely with the MarketPlace Creative Producers for Fenland and West Suffolk

WHEN

The workshops will take place in late January 2025  across the seven towns (one day per town). The work will be exhibited in February 2025.

FINANCE

The artist (or collective) will receive an artist fee of £5,000 (inc vat) and a production budget of £5,000 (inc vat) to develop and produce this project. The production budget includes all materials and technical, installation and operational costs. Please provide a budget breakdown of the production budget. We are open to the discussion of projects which would require a larger production budget being made available. 

HOW TO APPLY

To apply for this opportunity, please submit your application by the date and  time according to the below instructions. The deadline to receive applications is by Monday 25 November at 5pm. 

To submit:

1. Download the complete the application form

2. Submit one document (up to three pages) showing examples of your work.

3. Email the completed form and the examples of your work to community@cppmarketplace.co.uk with the subject line: “Light Up The Town application, [your name].”

If you prefer to upload video responses to your application, videos should be no longer than 5 minutes each.

We are here to help! If you need assistance with your application, have any questions about the project, or have any issues when sending required files, we’re here to support you! Please contact us at: community@cppmarketplace.co.uk 

USEFUL INFORMATION

How we assess your application

• We aim to ensure the selected commissions will be high-quality work and provide the best experience for the artists and our community. A panel of the MarketPlace team alongside community representatives will assess the applications.

• Your applications will be viewed and selected by people who may be unfamiliar with the terminology and references of the arts and culture sector.