The pandemic has decimated the arts. With galleries and venues shuttered and stay at home orders still in place, the situation has devastated many artists and creators both in the UK and beyond — but particularly those who are young and just starting out. It’s those creators that the ICA and Dr. Martens have teamed up to help with an open call to support emerging artists, offering £60,000 in grants.
Focusing specifically on those working in moving image and film, the ICA’s announcement today is offering a total of seven grants as part of Image Behaviour 2021, the institute’s annual conference dedicated to experimental moving image work. One artist will receive a production grant of £30,000, with a further six grants of £5,000 available, all supplemented by production support and mentoring. As well as financial support, the initiative will also provide the winning artists with the opportunity to present their work as part of Image Behaviour 2021, as well as through Dr. Martens’ digital platforms and on Cinema 3, a new online platform developed by the ICA (which is currently screening a Wong Kar-wai retrospective, so you’ll be in good company).
“We are experiencing one of the biggest paradigm shifts in society since 1946, the year of the ICA’s founding in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War,” Stefan Kalmár, Executive Director of the ICA said in a statement. Curator of Artists’ Films and Moving Image at the ICA, Steven Cairns, added: “The new opportunities made possible by this exciting new partnership are timely and much-needed by artists who are trying to break through in these challenging times. Dr. Martens’ serious commitment to the ICA’s Image Behaviour means that we are able to conceive an even more impactful programme with substantially more new commissions.”
If you’re a young creator interested in applying, then the Image Behaviour Open Call is inviting you to submit your proposals from tomorrow, 17 February, through to 30 March, after which an international jury will make their decision. Find out more here.