Inkubator is an exciting new paid professional development course for writers across all disciplines who want to develop their skills in participatory arts practice with young people.
New Writing North Young Writers is an award-winning programme, which introduces young people to creative writing through school and community groups in the North East. From Saturday morning writing groups to long-term relationships with secondary schools, they offer young people the opportunity to experiment and create, using forms of writing from songwriting and rapping to prose and poetry. The programme could not run without our facilitators: dynamic, diverse and talented freelance writers with a passion for working with young people. To maintain the highest quality on the programmes, it is vital that they support emerging writers who may have little to no experience of participatory practice.
The Gateshead Young Writers project, funded by Kavlifondet, now enables them to offer this superb development opportunity for six emerging practitioners. It is free to take part. All successful applicants will receive a bursary of £500 to enable their participation on the course. We hope that following successful completion of the course, we will be able to offer participants further freelance work on New Writing North’s programmes.
Eligibility
- You must be over 18 years of age.
- You should be passionate about working with young people.
- You should be able to demonstrate current practice of an artistic discipline to a high standard (e.g. performances, publication, online portfolio).
- Words should form a significant part of your artistic practice (e.g. songwriting, rapping, scriptwriting, poetry, prose, essays).
- You should be able to commit to the course structure outlined below
- You must be able to travel to New Writing North projects in the North East on a regular basis.
Course Structure
Inkubator is a professional development course taking place between April and July 2020, which will comprise six training and reflection days, plus a practical placement on one of the New Writing North Young Writers’ projects to put facilitation skills into action.
The taught content will comprise masterclasses led by guest writers and artists and will cover the skills required for facilitation with young people, as well as an introduction to freelance working, safeguarding and evaluation. There will be an emphasis on the importance of critical reflection as a way to improve your participatory arts practice.
Training will take place on the following dates from 10am–2pm at Gateshead Central Library:
- Wednesday 15 April
- Wednesday 22 April
- Wednesday 6 May
- Wednesday 17 June
- Wednesday 1 July
- Wednesday 22 July
The placement will happen between May and July 2020 and will be tailored to each applicant’s skills, interests, and availability. The placement will offer a combination of shadowing experienced practitioners and leading delivery. A typical placement might be four afternoon sessions in a secondary school, plus two sessions at a Saturday young writers’ group. This will be accompanied by mentoring from a New Writing North artist or producer.
Deadline
Wednesday 18 March at 11:59PM
Interviews will take place on: Friday 27 March
Between April and July 2020, you will be expected to attend:
- Up to three progress reviews with the course lead
- Two action learning groups with other participants in the cohort.