Artists announced: BEYOND Spring Award 2024
BEYOND SPRING AWARD 2024: The Work Room is pleased to announce the first member-led project awarded seed funding from BEYOND in the 2024 funding cycle.
In March, we held the first round of BEYOND in the 2024 funding cycle, to select a recipient of the BEYOND Spring Award 2024.
Beyond is a seed funding initiative, which aims to nurture, support and kick-start artist-led projects and practices that take dance beyond the studio to connect more people to dance, while also fostering collaboration and artistic community within TWR membership.
Piloting a first round in 2018, Beyond was relaunched in May 2022 following a period of consultation with a working group of members, to redesign the fund and experiment with different processes of decision-making, adopting a random selection process for awarding funds. BEYOND is now in its third round of awarding seed funding.
The Beyond Spring Award 2024 was made following a peer review process by members Anya Sirina and Niamh O’Loughlin, who checked the EOI's against the fund’s eligibility criteria, shared some responses and thoughts on the proposals to support their onward journey, and witnessed the random selection process to confirm its legitimacy.
We are happy to announce the project selected in this round is Orcadian Dances by Penny Chivas & Stephanie Hellewell Baird
Orcadian Dances brings together dance artists Stephanie Hellewell Baird and Penny Chivas to deliver workshops over three days on the Orkney mainland and islands.o
Having first connected in 2023 when Penny toured 'Burnt Out' to Orkney, this collaboration facilitates learning and exchange between two experienced artists, bringing together Orkney-based Stephanie’s deep rooted community connections made through her dance work across Orkney, teaching generations of participants over the past 20 years from Sanday to Shapinsay, Westry to Hoy; and Glasgow-based Penny's teaching and facilitation practice which has seen her travel and work across several continents, bringing and adapting CI, somatic and inclusive dance practice to a wide range of people, places, and contexts, indoors and out.
The three proposed workshops will build on existing relationships and make new connections in the community, to introduce participants in Orkney to somatic and creative movement practices. Through Orcadian Dances, Penny and Stephanie hope to establish a model for cross-collaborative exchange, which will enrich the diversity of the dance offering in Orkney through co-teaching with visiting artists.
We are grateful to all our members who took the time and creativity to share an idea in their EOI for Beyond and participate in the selection process. Projects not selected in the Spring Draw will have the opportunity to be entered into the Summer Awards draw
Beyond is currently open for submissions of EOIs to be entered into the Summer 2024 Awards draw. Members should submit EOIs on or before Thursday 30 May, to be considered for these awards.