The Powerhouse is making a bold investment into the post-COVID cultural rejuvenation of Sydney with the launch of a new Powerhouse Artistic Associates program for 2022.
The Artistic Associates initiative has been developed to engage artists and creative practitioners to be embedded within the Powerhouse to conceptually and creatively contribute to its renewal. The program offers individual Associates a significant opportunity to enhance their professional standing and enrich their creative practice through the Powerhouse investing into creative collaborations and the development of new work. Projects that reflect the breadth and diversity of creative practice are encouraged.
COLLABORATING WITH ARTISTS IN NEW WAYS
The Powerhouse is a unique institution that works across art, design, science and technology. This program is seeking creative practitioners from across the spectrum of disciplines – including visual artists, writers, designers, photographers, and film makers – who are encouraged to apply by lodging an Expression of Interest.
Artistic Associates will be appointed for an initial 12-month term from January 2022 and concepts for longer term projects are also welcome. Each Associate will have access to the full scope of Powerhouse facilities including a workspace, digital studios, the Powerhouse Collection, Research Library and Archives. They will work alongside Powerhouse the Powerhouse team which may include collaborations with the Powerhouse’s renewal, curatorial, collections, digitisation, exhibitions, and public programs teams.
“We welcome proposals that consider how through collaboration the Powerhouse can support and expand an artist’s practice, but also how artists and artistic practices can continue to redefine the Powerhouse through an extraordinary period of renewal as we continue to redefine what a museum is and can be for its communities” said Lisa Havilah, Chief Executive of the Powerhouse.
Expressions of Interest will include an overview of the proposed project along with a detailed time-line showing key milestones and a budget for the works. Applicants will demonstrate that they have an established creative practice and the ability to take a major project from concept to conclusion. Applications will only be considered from individual practitioners, and not teams or organisations.
The Artistic Associates program offers creative practitioners an outstanding opportunity to be part of a dynamic and collaborative team that is continually redefining and reinvigorating a much-loved institution. They will work in a collaborative cultural environment, extending their creative reach within a new context.
THE POWERHOUSE RENEWAL
In considering your submission, it’s good to understand the scale and ambition of the Powerhouse Renewal. The Powerhouse Renewal is the largest investment into cultural infrastructure since the Sydney Opera House. It will deliver the museum’s new flagship, Powerhouse Parramatta; the renewal of Powerhouse, Ultimo which includes the establishment of a major new creative industries precinct for Sydney and the expansion of the collection storage and cultural space at Castle Hill. Currently the Powerhouse is digitising more than 330,000 objects which will provide new levels of access to the Powerhouse collection.
Find out more about Expressions of Interest for the Artistic Associate initiative. Expressions of interest close on 1 December 2021.
