Ongoing

Stanmer Park, Brighton, UK

We host occasional micro-residencies in a woodland space in Stanmer Park near Brighton.

The key purpose is to develop a community and network of practitioners, researchers and other interested people. The micro-residencies are offered to provide space and time for ideas generation, practice or project development. We hope they can serve as a temporary action or even inaction zone; a space for reflecting, noticing, taking stock, planning, creating,  giving or resetting. 

The residency is outdoors. There is no electricity onsite so probably best to come laptop free. There are toilets and a cafe within a few minutes walk. We have some camping stools. 

The site is a 25 minute walk through parkland from the nearest train statiion at Falmer. It is likely to most appeal to people who are: comfortable being outdoors in all weather types, happy to work independently, value being unplugged. One of the Commonplace team will meet you in the park to take you to the site. 

In addition to the mico-residencies themselves, we plan to host occasional Residencies Re-groups to encourage residency participants to share their experiences with each other and with people interested in undertaking future residencies.

Theme

We encourage applications from people who are interested in notions of environmental attunement, in the widest sense. Beyond that, we have no desire to be prescriptive so the following list should be read as possibilities rather than constraints: 

The infra-ordinary

Traces and atmospheres

Space, skills, knowledge, networks

Currencies for the now

Water as method

Strategies for environmental wellbeing

In it together

Interspecies communication

 

Who might wish to apply

Artists, writers, cultural workers, creatives, researchers, social, health or third sector workers are welcome to apply. We encourage people from the start of their careers through to retirement. We will accept applications from individuals or small groups (up to three people) and we strongly encourage applications from people from BAME backgrounds.

Outputs

We invite residency participants to leave a trace of their time with us; a small document of some kind. This could take the form of a residency reflection, a short paper, poem, piece of fiction, image(s), sound recording, podcast or a short 'in conversation' with one of the Commonplace team.

We will publish your outputs online.

How to apply

Please send us a short email (no more than 250 words) telling us: why you would like to undertake a micro-residency, how your proposal relates to our overarching theme and what you might wish to do in your time. Please also attach a short biog or short c.v. 

Applications should be emailed to residencies_spring2o20@commonplace.earth.

Selection Process

We make our decisions based on your approach to the residency programme themes and depending on availability. We aim to notify applicants of the outcome within two weeks of receiving the application. Dates will be agreed subsequently.