Homotopia is encouraging LGBTQIA artists to celebrate Queer Art Always. They are offering seed commissions, ranging from £250 to £1,000 each.

They are looking for positive and imaginative ways for our audience to engage via non-traditional platforms, suitable for the current climate. They are especially interested in art that will reach across spatial divides, making those who are isolated feel connected as well as entertained.

They’re excited to hear about your ideas that go beyond live-streamed one-off performances. That’s not to say that we won’t consider backing live-streamed events, but we are encouraging artists to push the creative box.

This isn’t about responding to COVID-19 per se, rather it is demonstrating the power of art to inspire, connect and bring hope during a trying time.

You will receive between £250-£1,000 commission and some artistic/producing support; starting with an initial Zoom meeting with Homotopia’s Producer to talk through logistics, timeline and idea.

Guidelines 

• Suitable for any performers, theatre-makers, film-makers, visual artists, writers, poets and small arts companies who identify as LGBTQIA.
• Half of the commissions will be reserved for artists based in the North West (which includes Merseyside, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and parts of Cumbria).
• You must have at least a 2 years track record of working as an artist, this does not mean you have to be regularly paid as an artist in this time, it means you should be able to prove your track record and commitment to your chosen art form.
• Artists should be ready to begin work on their commissions right away with the delivery period April – June 2020.
• The medium is up to you, but it must be appropriate to current public health advice regarding social distancing, therefore it might be audio recording, video, a visual response, an interactive digital response or something they haven’t even thought of yet!
• Pieces must be original, and not from an artist’s existing work, unless it is truly relevant and timely to do so, such as a digital realisation or element of a pre-existing R&D. If the work replicates pre-existing copyrighted content (particularly music), it should do so creatively, and be flagged in the application.
• The work must be accessible and they will work with you on captioning, audio descriptions and other access elements, if required.
• It must be work that can be shared and promoted by Homotopia online.
• For each commission, they will agree a timeline and key milestones, with full funds administered on completion of the commission. Rather than just yes/no to submissions, they will work with artists who have great ideas to directly address logistical issues relating to copyright/explicit content/access.

First deadline: Wednesday 8 April

Second deadline: Wednesday 22 April

They strongly encourage applications from folks who are currently underrepresented in the arts, which might include queer D/deaf and disabled artists and QTIPOC artists.

https://www.homotopia.net/about/commissions/