DETOUR

In a spirit of mutuality and reciprocity, six leading Australian dance organisations will host two Australian dance artists through an interconnected residency program. By working together, we will provide 12 weeks of paid work (ten weeks in residence, two weeks of additional preparatory fees) for an artist to spend time with us, engage with our communities, with no prescribed ‘outcome’ in mind; to free an artist to develop in the context of our unique environs.

The companies will host the selected artists for two or three weeks each, providing space and relationships (through a Community Connector, an active artist/arts-worker trusted locally) to facilitate their work.

As companies, we ask that the artist connect with our communities, in the spirit of exchange, on their terms. This would be negotiated with the selected artists based on their proposed activity and set of skills, and might for example result in forums, talks, sharings, classes, skills exchanges or workshops delivered by the artist.

• 12 weeks of pay at $1,300 per week + superannuation.

• Up to 10 weeks of living away from home allowance at the LPA rate.

• Flights, transfers and accommodation to/from their home and each host company (the artist does not need to live in a major city to access this opportunity).

• A local Community Connector in each region; a local artist to liaise with them and build local relationships for them (this may be an employee of the company or an independent artist/artsworker).

• Studio space, administrative and technical support as relevant to their proposed activity.

• A ‘4WD’ artist – a proactive practitioner with a self-directed proposal, a holistic and self-motivated creative.

• Someone who understands who the companies are and how they might align with them – this could be through engaging in their already existing programs or proposing activity that meets the values and aspirations of the host companies.

• Someone new to us, an artist who we may not have an existing or prior professional working relationship with (such as an artist with a long history or current or recent major employment by one or more of the companies – if you are unsure whether this applies to you, please reach out to us).

• Someone who can demonstrate why the community/geographical engagement will be beneficial to them, or what they can bring to these spaces that is meaningful and mutually beneficial.

• An artist with the skills and capacity to be able to exchange, reciprocate, share with the communities we engage with, other artists and young people – ideally with a teaching or facilitating practice.

• We commit to granting the fellowship to an artist who needs an opportunity like this right now, someone who isn’t to our knowledge in receipt of other major support, such as another fellowship, at this present time (this might mean early career, hibernating, late career, submerged, unfunded or any other form of lesser visibility).

• Financial status and level of education are not prohibiting factors in access to this opportunity (having a degree from a major institution is not a prerequisite).

• We will adapt to the needs of artists lives and champion flexibility with this fellowship – if you are a primary carer, have access needs, or other factors that would make an opportunity like this difficult for you, we will respond to them.

• We encourage artists with diverse movement practices to approach us, such as cultural dance practices, suburban/regional/remote, dance artists embedded within communities of practice, queer, fringe, underground, not working in major institutions but creating work on the peripheries – fiercely independent artists.

Applications for 2025 are now closed.