Are you bumping into barriers as a beginning artist? Join our new learning network!

Open call: Wortelen//Rooting

Flanders Arts Institute wants to help build a learning community – called Wortelen//Rooting – for people who are just starting out as professional artists. In this learning community, a small group of artists gather regularly with the intention of sharing knowledge and experiences. The goal is to learn from each other, to encourage cross-pollination and to experience mutual growth. Because some groups of people are still underrepresented in the arts, we want to encourage people of color, women, disabled and neurodivergent people, LGBTQIA+ people and people who experience financial barriers to apply

The contents of the sessions will depend on your needs. FAI will facilitate an open space that can be a fertile ground for your growth, in which we provide organisational, logistic and productional support. Will this be in the form of workshops, lectures, sharing moments, exchange…? That depends on you.

At Flanders Arts Institute, we try to be aware of the wants and needs of artists. This learning community is also an opportunity for us to gain knowledge on the needs of the artists of tomorrow. In that way, we can provide support in the sector where it’s needed.

Who can apply?

• You’re proactive, are interested in working together as a practice, and it doesn’t scare you that your input will inform this learning community.
• You’re working in the fields of fine arts, performing arts and/or classical music.
• You’re at the start of your professional career in the arts. We set a maximum of 5 years of experience as a guideline, but feel free to motivate why you are at the start of your career. There is no age restriction.
• You are not or are no longer a student. Whether or not you have a degree in the arts is irrelevant.
• You experience a higher threshold to start in the arts, due to systematic oppression and/or financial thresholds. 
• You can engage for 5 meetings in the period from September 2023 until August 2024. The suggested date for the first meeting is the 21st of September.
• If you’ve never heard of Flanders Arts Institute or have never been in contact with us, let this be an extra invitation to apply.

Wat does FAI offer?

• Flanders Arts Institute will organise these sessions, with the possibility of inviting external experts.
• A compensation of 100€ – 150€ – 200€ per session (sliding scale)¹, as well as a fee for transportation.
• We will take notes and work further on what grows from the community.

How to apply?

Send us a document of max. one A4 page or a video-/audio-file of max. five minutes, answering following questions:

• Introduce yourself briefly: what has been your trajectory in the arts?
• Which themes or subjects would you like to bring into the network?
• Why are you interested in this project?
• What are your expectations towards FAI within this learning community?v

Applications end on the 15th of August. You can apply through this form

Our colleague Nixie is available for additional questions about the open call via nixie@kunsten.be.

How do we select the participants?

We will carefully consider each application with 4 colleagues at FAI.
We’re aiming towards a group of 10 people.
We will check if your motivation and expectations are aligned with what FAI can offer.
We will try to create a dynamic group, in which there is representation of all disciplines, a variation of underrepresented groups and varied ages.
You will receive a written reasoning for our choice whether or not you have been selected by the first week of September

Accessibility

FAI can cater to your accessibility needs. We have a separate accessibility budget, with which we can provide extra transportation costs, a sign language interpreter, or other access needs. After the selection process, we will provide an access rider² in which you can clearly communicate your needs.

The sessions will happen in person, we can be flexible on the location. Is physical presence not available to you? Online presence is also a possibility. 

For additional information on accessibility, you can contact Nixie at nixie@kunsten.be.

Endnotes

[1] Through compensation with a sliding scale, we ask you to choose your fee. We ask you to take in consideration your current pay and your social-economic status. Are you financially in a safe position? Consider choosing the lower fee. In this way, it becomes possible for us to pay a higher fee to people who are financially less stable.

[2] An access rider is a document that describes your disability and communicates your accessibility needs so that it can be ensured that you can get equal access as someone without a disability.