The BLAST Fellowship programme aims to provide financial support and career development for Black creatives to enter the science media and research impact space. The Fellowship package includes a bursary of £1,250, mentoring, masterclasses, field trips, and an event budget of £250, along with production support to platform the artist's work at a showcase event in July.
Fellows will take part in a 'BLAST Lab'; a STEM and arts-themed project designed to cultivate new multidisciplinary collaborations between Black artists, storytellers, scientists and engineers. The theme for this year's Lab is; Engineering, Environment and Arts for Social Change.
The fellowship will be completed flexibly over 3 months between April and July 2022, with a final public showcase during the BLAST Fest weekend in July.
This project is supported by the Royal Academy of Engineering through an Ingenious grant.
Key Dates
Open:
28th February 2022
Closes:
31 March 2022, 4 pm
Shortlist:
8th April 2022
WHAT’S INCLUDED IN THE BLAST MULTI-MEDIA FELLOWSHIP:
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£1250 FINANCIAL BURSARY
You will be given money to help support your creative development. It will be up to you how you spend the money and it could be used for equipment, materials, your own time, rehearsal space or training. It can be whatever you need to elevate your work and help get the most out of your collaboration and mentoring during the fellowship.
Who is eligible to apply?:
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Black artists between the ages of 18-24 years old
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Living in Birmingham or Manchester and able to attend the final exhibition in July in the Midlands/Birmingham. (Covid permitting)
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We welcome applications from anyone that self-identifies as an artist, no formal qualifications are required. You can be working in any medium. Examples include: visual art, poetry, dance, photography, filmmaking, sculpture, music, textile design, fashion, horticultural design, food art.
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COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIP WITH AN ENGINEER
You will be matched with a real-life problem solver, an Engineer, who you will collaborate with to explore the societal issue that you choose to address in your art. You will then work together to create a piece of public art to engage others in the issue you have chosen to explore.
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CREATIVE MENTOR
Based on your artistic medium, you will be paired with a Creative Mentor working in your field to provide artistic guidance and inspiration. Each relationship will be different but could include 1-2-1 mentoring, group training or site visits to the mentor’s workplace.
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PUBLIC EXHIBITION OF YOUR ARTWORK
With an additional £250 to bring your ideas to life, you will work together with your Engineering Mentor to explore a societal issue and create a public exhibit. This can be in any medium and will form part of the BLAST weekend in July. You will also have the benefit of expert guidance and advice from the BLAST events team to help you produce your exhibit.
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MASTERCLASS SESSIONS
During your fellowship, you will have exclusive access to masterclass training and inspiration sessions from leading scientists, engineers and public engagement professionals. You will have an unrivaled opportunity to not only hear their stories but to ask them questions about their lives and work.
HOW TO APPLY FOR THE BLAST MEDIA FELLOWSHIP:
We will be awarding four fellowships in total, and have created a simple application process.
Just send us a covering letter, telling us about yourself, your artistic talents and what attracted you to the fellowship in relation to the theme of Engineering, Environment and Social Change.
Please email your Cover Letter to anita@blastfest.org.uk
You can also email us some examples or links to your artwork if you wish. Feel free to use our WeTranfer link to send us larger files: https://blastfest.wetransfer.com
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: 4 pm, 31st March 2022
If you have questions about the application process, please email anita@blastfest.org.uk
