New Dimensions Commission

Tue 14 Feb 2023

Performer lies draped across a podium in the centre of the image. They are wearing knee pads and something around their middle but nothing else. There are two naked women curled into balls on the floor facing away from the camera and one woman sitting towards the back of the image on a very large black box that takes up half of the image's background. There is a motorbike suspended on the right hand side. Lighting in this image is mostly red with a projection on the backdrop of a twisted dark forest, with tree roots entwined.

TANZ by Florentina Holzinger at BAC in Autumn 2022. Credit: Eva Würdinger

Transform (Leeds), Battersea Arts Centre (London), Take Me Somewhere (Glasgow), Tramway (Glasgow), and Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts (Brighton) have come together to support artists who are ready to dream big and create a new work of scale that can tour nationally and internationally.

The five UK partners have created a partnership to nurture and support ambition through commissioning, residency space, fundraising and producing support and international development opportunities.

One artist or company will be selected for commission, supported by the partners through to the premiere of a new production in Autumn 2025.

The Commission:

£50K (Fifty Thousand Pound) commission
28 month (2.5 year) making process
20 weeks residency space
Fundraising and producing support
International development opportunities
Premiere and tour the new work to the partner festivals and venues in Autumn 2025.

What are we looking to support?

Artists who can demonstrate a strong track record for making and touring cross-disciplinary performance work, who are looking to expand their practice and present work on a larger scale.

What do we mean by ‘work of scale’?

Work for larger stages: minimum 10 x 10m stages
Space & time: research time, residencies and production time spanning 28 months
Creative teams: resources to work with larger, experienced and multi-disciplinary creative teams

Ambition & innovation: creation of new forms and aesthetics to support rigorous research and ideas
Audiences: platforming the work at leading international festivals, and presenting the work over longer runs for 300 – 600 seater venues
International outlook: we aim to provide an international outlook from the outset by including international programmers as part of the decision-making process.

Who can apply?

UK based artists/companies only
Artists working in contemporary performance
Applicants will need to demonstrate a professional track record including successful grants or previous public and/or arts council funding, tour dates and venue support
We are actively encouraging applications from artists who have experienced barriers to working at scale and touring – LGBTQI+, female, non-binary, disabled, global majority led work, and work led by artists from low-socio economic backgrounds.

Application Process:

14 Feb 2023: Open call for Stage 1 applications
21 March 2023, Midnight: Deadline for Stage 1 applications

Please visit the BAC website for more information and to apply.