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Call for Entries: Artist’s Residency on Victoria Road, Romford

Deadline: August 10, 2012, 2:00 pm

Call for Entries: Artist’s Residency on Victoria Road, Romford

Project Summary
Architects Studio Weave have been appointed as lead designer for The Battis and Victoria Road Major Scheme in Romford, Havering – London’s most eastern borough. The project seeks to improve the physical environment of these tired urban landscapes either side of Romford Station that have not received investment for a long time – one a series of railway arches, the other a road lined with shops at ground level and some dwellings above, with more people expected to move here to live in the future. With their designs, they aspire to improve the functionality of both spaces as well as creating a public realm befitting the 21st century and well-placed to help Romford make the most of Crossrail when it arrives in town in 2017.

In order to create a local presence for the project onsite, to develop the arts strategy alongside urban design, and to inspire future uses of the shops on Victoria Road, Studio Weave will be taking over an empty shop for six months in 2012. Used as the project space, it will offer a shop window for displaying information about the project and upcoming events, a place for stakeholders to hold meetings, and crucially they want the shop to act as studio space for a series of artists’ residencies.

Artist’s Brief
They are seeking artists for a series of residencies to be based in our Project Shop on Victoria Road to engage with the local area and its people, including residents and business owners. Each residency will comprise a minimum period of 3 weeks with a total budget of £2500. A strong and engaging presence on site would be very important and the residency would need to include interactive events and workshops, which look to strike a balance between daytime/twilight/nighttime events, and between different groups of people (children, local business owners etc) as the targeted audience. Any community engagement would be tailored to the context of Victoria Road and The Battis in Romford and ideally lead to an outcome that could inform design proposals in some way.

The overall theme for the artists’ residencies programme will be discovering hidden treasures in the area. Workshop themes might include (but are by no means restricted to): collecting memories about the local area; the Romford identity; seeking green space and biodiversity; the River Rom; and the historical significance of mills and industry here. Events organised as part of the residency could range from storytelling, to hands-on arts and crafts, to learning new skills.
Artists might choose to make a temporary installation for the Project Shop, another space along Victoria Road or The Battis. Studio Weave are excited to hear about proposals that take an imaginative and energetic approach to engaging with the local community.

Outcomes for each residency

  1. Creating activity in the shop front and a presence on the street
  2. Responding to the theme of discovering hidden treasures in Romford
  3. Organising interactive events that engage with the local community
  4. Proposing temporary or permanent elements for The Battis and/or Victoria Road redevelopments
  5. Producing work that can be included in a group show during December 2012

Indicative dates
First residency: 27 August - 14 September 2012
Second residency: 24 September - 12 October 2012
Third residency: 22 October - 9 November 2012
Group show: 3 December - 21 December 2012

Submission requirements

  • Response to the brief and proposal for residency and workshops (maximum 500 words)
  • Up to five relevant examples of previous projects showing experience in community engagement
  • CV including contact details for two referees

Please also indicate your availability for the dates listed above.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: 2pm on Friday 10th August 2012

Email your submissions as a single pdf (no larger than 5MB) to Esme Fieldhouse at: [email protected]
If you have any queries please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Visit www.studioweave.com

Click here for download the Call for Artists(486 KB)