(Image credit: Gabriele Beveridge - Cosmetic Universals Choke I Seventeen, 2018)

Open call for applications to the 2019 residency programme

West Dean College of Arts and Conservation is pleased to announce its Open Call for their 2019 residency programme. It will be launched on Thursday 25 April 2019, with the deadline being Monday 1 July 2019 and the public announcement being w/c 22 July 2019.

The residency is designed to support contemporary practitioners in developing research projects and studio-based practices. It is co-ordinated alongside the full-time Fine Art programmes at the College, Residencies are informed by West Dean's rich history of supporting skills-based making as well as the legacy of its founder, Edward James, renowned for his support of individual artists and avant-garde collaborations across a variety of creative fields.

The Fine Art programmes are based in the School of Arts, which also incorporates Creative Writing, Contemporary Craft, and Historic Craft Practices. The College is also renowned as a centre of excellence in Conservation and Collections Management and has a range of facilities that support skills-based making, such as ceramics, metalwork, furniture making and horology.

Previous resident artists have included Caroline Achaintre, Gabriele Beveridge, George Charman, Tamara Henderson, Florence Peake, Tahmina Negmat, Rose O'Gallivan, Yelena Popova, Katie
Schwab, Renee So, Ross Taylor, and Poppy Jones.

Gabriele Beveridge said: "West Dean gave me the opportunity to re-discover the magic of the photographic process and break out of my comfort zone of familiar materials. The range of facilities and support available at West Dean College aren't available on other residencies, it allows an artist complete freedom."

The Opportunity

The residency programme provides artists with full board accommodation for a three-week period. Studio space is provided, as well as access to a variety of resources and facilities, including the
College Library, technical support, the Historic House and the West Dean Archive and Collection.
Applications are encouraged from artists whose interests align with a variety of thematic areas related to the College's history and current activities including, but not limited to: Architecture,
Archives and Collections, Conservation, Dance, Design, Education, Horticulture, Music, Patronage, Publishing, Surrealism, Theatre, and Writing.

Resident artists enrich the creative learning environment of the College by providing support to fulltime Graduate and MFA students. This will include a presentation on their practice or research,
tutorials and/or seminars, workshops and group critiques. The amount of time expected to be allocated to these activities is equivalent to two full days.

Applicants must be 18 or over, the residency is for individual artists, not collaborative groups, this opportunity is not open to students in full-time education, although PhD candidates can apply and
this is an international opportunity, with travel covered within the UK.

The Selectors are Ross Taylor - Artist, 2018 artist-in-residence; Dr. David Stent - Artist /
Subject Leader (Fine Art), West Dean College of Arts and Conservation; Sarah Hughes - Artist /
Curatorial Assistant, West Dean College of Arts and Conservation; and Agata Bogacka - MFA
Student representative.

How to Apply

Artists are invited to send proposals outlining how they wish to spend their time at West Dean College, what facilities they would require in order to fulfil their proposal, and an indication of any
additional support. A £200 materials budget is available.

The online application includes:

• A 300-word proposal outlining aims for the residency, how it will contribute to the life of the College, particularly the Fine Art programmes, and how it will impact career development
• A 200-word artist statement
• A current CV
• Five images of work (files no larger than 500kb)
• Link to website

Due to the large number of submissions, West Dean College of Arts and Conservation regrets that
feedback cannot be given on individual proposals.

For more information, please visit www.westdean.ac.uk

West Dean College of Arts and Conservation can be found on Social Media:

• https://twitter.com/westdeancollege
• https://www.facebook.com/westdeancollege
• https://www.instagram.com/westdeancollege/
• https://www.pinterest.co.uk/westdeancollege/
• https://www.linkedin.com/school/westdeancollege

-ENDS

Notes to Editors:

West Dean College of Arts and Conservation was founded in 1971 by the poet and Surrealist
patron, Edward James, recognised by BBC Arts as the 'the greatest patron of art of the early 20th
century'.