Open call
International Women’s Day 2024: SOUP Event and Bursary
We are funding a creative, community-focussed, women-led project in Southampton or the surrounding areas.
Since 2022, ‘a space’ arts has been celebrating International Women’s Day by hosting a silent auction of original artworks made by women. These events have been a great success, supporting artists around the world and raising money for Yellow Door, a local charity which prevents and responds to domestic and sexual abuse.
This year, we want to continue supporting creativity and inspiring change by funding a creative, community-focussed, women-led project in Southampton or the surrounding areas. The £2,000 bursary could support a new initiative, or help to contribute to the ongoing work of an existing project.
What we loved most about our silent auction events is that everyone could get involved, whether they were bidding in the auction or submitting an artwork. So, we’re keeping that ethos at the core of this project and letting the public vote for which proposal they’d like to see awarded the funding at a public SOUP event*, hosted at God’s House Tower on Friday 8th March 2024.
Who can apply
We are looking to fund a women-led project based in the SO postcode which seeks to: - Build connection and/or creative skills within local communities
- Provide social benefit and are not-for-profit
- Deliver a creative output
We are particularly interested in receiving applications from individuals and groups from underrepresented backgrounds, including projects which are LGBTQIA+led, disability led and/or global majority led.
What you’ll receive
The successful applicant will receive
- A £2,000 bursary towards their project, split into two payments
- Access to spaces for meetings and workshops if needed
- Access to shared resources including AV equipment and desk space to help you deliver your project
- Access to ‘a space’ arts networks of artists and audiences - On-going support from the ‘a space’ arts team
- A pop-up exhibition opportunity
The bursary will be split into two payments across one year, concluding with an exhibition opportunity for four weeks in the Barker-Mill Project Space* at God’s House
Tower, launching on International Women’s Day 2025. This is an opportunity for the successful project to share their progress and activity with members of the public in a creative way at ‘a space’ arts flagship venue with support and guidance from the ‘a space’ arts creative programming team.
What we expect
- A project which delivers social benefit for people in Southampton or the surrounding areas (in the SO postcode)
- Outcomes which can be displayed at God’s House Tower in a pop-up exhibition. This could be artworks, workshop outcomes or simply documentation of the funded activity/ project.
- An evaluation with the ‘a space’ arts team to report back to our funder for this project, the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
How to apply
We are inviting people to write a short proposal about their project which tells us a little bit about you and your creative background and answers the three following questions:
- Who is involved and how will they benefit
- What will you be doing and what will the money be spent on
- What is your vision for the exhibition/showcase opportunity
The 'a space’ arts team will shortlist these initial proposals and invite at least 3 projects to present their ideas in a 10 minute pitch to the public at a SOUP event on Friday 8th March 2024. The public will then vote for which project is awarded the funding.
We haven’t included a word count for these proposals as we understand it can be more of a barrier rather than a useful tool. Please tell us as much as you can about you and your ideas so that we can get a true sense of your ambitions. We welcome non-written proposals too, including voice or video recordings if you’d prefer.
To apply for this opportunity or if you have any questions, please contact mia@aspacearts.org.uk or call 07824326005
This year, we want to continue supporting creativity and inspiring change by funding a creative, community-focussed, women-led project in Southampton or the surrounding areas. The £2,000 bursary could support a new initiative, or help to contribute to the ongoing work of an existing project.
What we loved most about our silent auction events is that everyone could get involved, whether they were bidding in the auction or submitting an artwork. So, we’re keeping that ethos at the core of this project and letting the public vote for which proposal they’d like to see awarded the funding at a public SOUP event*, hosted at God’s House Tower on Friday 8th March 2024.
Who can apply
We are looking to fund a women-led project based in the SO postcode which seeks to: - Build connection and/or creative skills within local communities
- Provide social benefit and are not-for-profit
- Deliver a creative output
We are particularly interested in receiving applications from individuals and groups from underrepresented backgrounds, including projects which are LGBTQIA+led, disability led and/or global majority led.
What you’ll receive
The successful applicant will receive
- A £2,000 bursary towards their project, split into two payments
- Access to spaces for meetings and workshops if needed
- Access to shared resources including AV equipment and desk space to help you deliver your project
- Access to ‘a space’ arts networks of artists and audiences - On-going support from the ‘a space’ arts team
- A pop-up exhibition opportunity
The bursary will be split into two payments across one year, concluding with an exhibition opportunity for four weeks in the Barker-Mill Project Space* at God’s House
Tower, launching on International Women’s Day 2025. This is an opportunity for the successful project to share their progress and activity with members of the public in a creative way at ‘a space’ arts flagship venue with support and guidance from the ‘a space’ arts creative programming team.
What we expect
- A project which delivers social benefit for people in Southampton or the surrounding areas (in the SO postcode)
- Outcomes which can be displayed at God’s House Tower in a pop-up exhibition. This could be artworks, workshop outcomes or simply documentation of the funded activity/ project.
- An evaluation with the ‘a space’ arts team to report back to our funder for this project, the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
How to apply
We are inviting people to write a short proposal about their project which tells us a little bit about you and your creative background and answers the three following questions:
- Who is involved and how will they benefit
- What will you be doing and what will the money be spent on
- What is your vision for the exhibition/showcase opportunity
The 'a space’ arts team will shortlist these initial proposals and invite at least 3 projects to present their ideas in a 10 minute pitch to the public at a SOUP event on Friday 8th March 2024. The public will then vote for which project is awarded the funding.
We haven’t included a word count for these proposals as we understand it can be more of a barrier rather than a useful tool. Please tell us as much as you can about you and your ideas so that we can get a true sense of your ambitions. We welcome non-written proposals too, including voice or video recordings if you’d prefer.
To apply for this opportunity or if you have any questions, please contact mia@aspacearts.org.uk or call 07824326005
