Deindustrialization and the Politics of Our Time
Artist in Residence (AIR) Program
Industrial Closure Thematic Initiative
(two positions – 2022/23)
Brexit, the election of Donald Trump as US President, and the rise of right-wing populism across continental Europe have refocused attention on the connections between race, gender, and class in deindustrialized working-class communities. These volatile events have prompted debate and conjecture about the root causes and timing of the current social and political upheaval but little sustained research into those left behind.
The seven-year SSHRC partnership Deindustrialization and the Politics of Our Time (DePOT), based at the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling at Concordia University, brings together 36 partner organizations across six countries in Western Europe and North America: Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada. It examines the historical roots and lived experience of deindustrialization as well as the political responses to it. One of the project’s primary public outcomes will be a multi-site exhibition on Deindustrialization and the Politics of Our Time.
The DePOT Artist in Residence (DePOT AIR) program supports creative engagements with the historical roots and lived experience of deindustrialization. We are interested in proposals that range across the performing, creative and visual arts, are rooted in deindustrialized areas in Italy, France, Germany, the UK, the US or Canada and that speak to the impact, and legacy, of mine, mill, and factory closures. It invites grassroots artists from working-class, racialized, and marginalized communities in deindustrialized areas to join our multi-year, interdisciplinary, and transnational partnership.
The DePOT AIR program is inviting applications for two one-year fellowships (September 2022 – August 2023) centred on the socio-economic effects of industrial closures. Individual artists as well as artist collectives are eligible. A stipend of CAD $8,000 will be paid out in two instalments, the second of which will be at the project’s conclusion when the work has been presented to the Project’s Assembly in June 2023. Depending on where recipients are located, we will support recipients in acquiring additional outside funding or sponsorships for the creative art projects and will support their work in other ways (including transcribing oral history interviews when necessary). Recipients are expected to follow the project’s ethics guidelines for research-creation and attend the June 2023 conference in Montreal, Canada for which expenses will be paid.
The creative work generated will be showcased in the artist’s home community as well as at the DePOT Project Assembly and/or thematic workshop, on the DePOT website, book series, and potentially be incorporated into the project’s culminating multi-site exhibition. Depending on the nature of the creative work, it is even possible that some of this artistic work might travel between partners on the project.
Eligibility and Procedure
Lead artists should have demonstrated experience in community-engaged work. Proposed projects should have a demonstrated connection to deindustrialized communities, and ideally reflect, reference, or explore aesthetic forms, issues, and concerns that are in some way expressions of those communities’ experience with deindustrialization, especially industrial closure. Candidates with a demonstrated and sustained connection to deindustrialized communities are preferred. Proposals should be grounded in the performing, creative, or visual arts; however, projects that use interdisciplinary, multi-disciplinary, or integrated arts approaches are welcome. Artists who are considering applying to the AIR program are strongly encouraged to contact deindustrialization@concordia.
Deadlines and Funding Periods: June 15, 2022, for projects that will take place between September 2022 and August 2023.
Applicants will be notified of the Adjudication Committee’s decision by mid-July.
Payment Schedule
Awarded Funds will be distributed in two equal instalments. The first instalment will be paid upon signing of an Acceptance Contract; the second instalment upon submission of a Completion Report and after presentation to the Project’s Assembly.
Application Form
Please describe your project using the following headings and within the indicated maximum word limits:
- Title and brief description of the proposed project (1/4 page max).
- An abbreviated CV or resume of each artist involved in the project (3 pages max).
- Detailed description of the proposed project (3 pages max) including: the goals, outcomes, and perceived benefits of the project; and a list and/or description of potential community participants.
- Relevance of the proposed project to the overall goals and aims of the industrial closure thematic research area in particular and the DePOT partnership project in general (1 page max).
- Artistic merit of the proposed project (1 page max) including professional development.
- A timeline for the realization of the project (1 page max) indicating any significant milestones to be accomplished during the tenure of the project.
- A detailed budget listing expenses and revenues and including any funds requested or expected from other sources.
Criteria for Adjudication
Projects will be adjudicated based on the following:
40% – the degree to which the project is rooted in a deindustrialized community and addresses the research and overall goals of the industrial closure thematic research area and the DePOT project — including sharing authority, engaging deindustrialized and post-industrial communities, linking local and transnational discussions.
40% – the artistic and social merits of the project including its potential for artistic innovation and growth, and its positive impact on both the artist(s) and community or communities involved.
20% – the quality and thoughtfulness of the project’s overall planning and conception including presentation, background research, cultural competencies, timelines, outcomes, budgeting, resource management, etc.
Completed application forms can be sent via email to deindustrialization@concordia.
Working knowledge of either English or French is required. We encourage submission of applications in English or French, but also accept applications in German or Italian.
Proposals will be adjudicated by a panel of DePOT members including the co-chairs of the AIR committee and a representative of the thematic initiative. The AIR adjudication committee may seek advice from outside sources when it deems necessary.
Applicants are also welcome to electronically submit supplemental materials such as photos, journal or newspaper articles, reviews of their work etc.
The call for applications is also available in PDF format in English, French, Italian and German. Links to these can be found by visiting deindustrialization.
