Call Out for Artist Advisory Group
Akademi are looking for 3 artists to join our new Artist Advisory Group.
Akademi, under Suba and Kirsten’s new leadership, is looking at the future purpose of the organisation and how it supports and develops the sector, audiences, and communities in these challenging and unpredictable times ahead.
The Artist Advisory Group
We are looking to form a group of artists who can help shape Akademi’s future, working closely together with our new leadership as well as Akademi’s Board of Trustees.
We want your input to help us fully understand the needs of artists and develop more collaborative models of working together.
Together, we also want to address some of the findings from the South Asian Dance & Music Mapping Study recently published by Arts Council England.
The core group will be made up of the 3 newly recruited artists, Akademi’s representative on the Freelance Task Force, as well as a Trustee, Artistic Director Suba Subramaniam and other members of the Akademi team. Depending on the theme of each meeting, the attendee list might vary slightly. We also hope to bring in guests whose experiences are particularly relevant to the topic being discussed that day.
What we expect you to bring to the table
We are looking for professional dance artists:
- who are based anywhere in the UK
- whose practice is based on South Asian dance forms
- who are actively involved in and informed about the wider dance sector
- who are keen to develop the sector and the working relationships between organisations and freelancers
We want the group to reflect the wonderful diversity of our communities and are therefore especially looking for artists who identify within the protected characteristics groups as they are underrepresented in the cultural sector, including:
- artists who come from a wide range of different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds
- artists who identify as d/Deaf and/or disabled
- artists who are a part of the LGBTQI+ community
Please use your application to highlight how your lived experience around your identity and background has informed your practice and how this will translate into your contribution to this group.
Akademi will do our utmost to ensure that there are no barriers for anyone who wishes to apply to and become part of this group. We will cover Access costs including full support or contribution to PA costs and/or interpretation if required or if unobtainable under A2W or any other support mechanism.
Your commitment
Artists will need to attend 4 meetings a year for a term of 2 years, along with one introductory meeting.
You will be paid £150 per meeting for your attendance and for doing some preparation work as appropriate to make each meeting as productive as possible. Travel expenses will be paid if you are travelling from outside of London.
The selection process
The selection panel will be made up of members of the Akademi Team and Akademi’s Board of Trustees as well as an independent artist.
We invite you to talk through any questions you may have about the selection process and our plans for the Artist Advisory Group during one of our 30min Q&A sessions: Friday 12 February, 10am or Monday 15 February, 11.30am. Please email info@akademi.co.uk if you would like to join one of these sessions and you will receive a Zoom link.
Application
If you are interested in helping us shape the future of Akademi and your sector by being a part of our Artist Advisory Group, please apply by answering the following questions either:
• in writing or by using bullet points
• in a video or audio recording no longer than 5 minutes
1. Why have you applied to be part of this group? 250 words
2. Tell us all about your dance practice. (choreography, performing, Learning and Participation work, etc) 250 words
3. What skills and knowledge about the wider dance sector could you bring to this group? 250 words
4. Could you please summarise your thoughts on Arts Council England’s South Asian Dance & Music Mapping Study (read the report here)? What do you think are the most urgent issues facing South Asian dance at the moment? 250 words
Submit your application together with a completed Equal Opportunities Form to info@akademi.co.uk with the subject heading ‘Artist Advisory Group’.
The closing date for applications is Monday 22 February 2021, 5pm
We would like to thank Yorkshire Dance for their support with this call out.