Grant

An Invitation to dreamers: £5000 bursary launched in memory of Maurice W.H. O' Connell

Novem­ber Club re-launch­es an artists’ bur­sary worth £5,000 in mem­o­ry of Mau­rice W. H. O’Connell, aka The Lord of Mis­rule and the Abbott of Unreason

The Northumberland-based arts company is offering a one-off bursary of up to £5,000 for an artist in any performing or visual arts discipline to take time out to develop and enhance their practice in community and/or participative arts.

The bursary was originally launched at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in memory of Maurice O’Connell (24 October 1966 – 6 November 2018), who helped to create the original artistic vision for November Club. The bursary was not awarded in 2019 as the proposals received did not address the purpose and criteria of the award.

The one-off bursary is open to professional artists living and working in either the Republic of Ireland, Cornwall, Northumberland or the metropolitan county of Tyne & Wear and be able to demonstrate a commitment to their locality. These are places in which Maurice perfected his skills as an alchemist of the imagination.

Cinzia Hardy, Artistic Director at November Club said: “Maurice and I worked closely together in shaping the original artistic vision for November Club and the thread of his imagination will always run through our work. His unique sense of fun was embedded in November Club’s work and he was the heart and soul of some of my favourite projects and Maurice had a wonderful ability to engage and inspire audiences of all ages. Everyone always laughed a great deal when Maurice was around.”

Applications open Monday 13 July and will close at 5pm on Friday 7 August 2020.

Guidance about how to apply is available on https://www.novemberclub.org.uk/news/an-invitation-to-dreamers-the-maurice-oconnell-bursary