Ahead of the Curve Commissions

Featured artwork: KaiLash by Amicus Atman is featured in the above artwork.

Ahead of the Curve Commissions

The Ahead of the Curve Commissions is for young and emerging artists of colour living around Melbourne, to create new digital artworks that respond to social challenges, including COVID-19.

These commissions will empower young storytellers, makers and creators within our diverse communities to create works that:

show their strength and resilience in the face of adversity
explore health and wellbeing and
draw from their lived experiences.

MAV will offer a range of Ahead of the Curve commission tiers to suit community aspirations and individual capacity. As well as financial support, MAV can offer the following support to participating artists and communities:

professional and creative development workshops
networking and mentoring
production and administrative assistance.

The new digital works created in Ahead of the Curve will be presented online as part of MAV’s Diasporas platform. The Ahead of the Curve commissions will highlight the way the COVID-19 pandemic has compounded inequity and disadvantage for communities of colour in Victoria.

Supported by The Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, the Ahead of the Curve commissions will challenge prevailing narratives of CALD communities as vulnerable and helpless and explore how diversity and community can also be protective factors; enabling communities to address the social determinants of health inequity and disadvantage.

AHEAD OF THE CURVE PROVOCATION

Applicants must address how their proposal will respond to inequity and disadvantage within diverse and marginalised communities by responding to one or more of the following provocations:

Exploring the themes of strength and vulnerability

Sharing narratives of adversity and resilience

Creating sanctuary through shared experience

COMMISSION TIERS

Empower: Solo New Works ($750): 10 availableFor creatives who can produce their work alone and do not need additional materials, equipment, expertise, or technical support.
Develop: Collaborative New Works (up to $3000): 10 availableFor development of new works that involve at least 2 creatives and/ or require additional materials, equipment, expertise, or technical support.
Respond: Project Response Works (up to $7000): 5 availableFor community groups, cultural enterprises, or artist collectives to develop works involving multiple artists and/ or community members.

ELIGIBILITY

Applicants who:

self-identify as First Nations, a Person of Colour, or Culturally or Linguistically Diverse;
People aged between 15-35;
Applicants do not need to identify as an artist or creative, however the proposal must have creative outcomes.
live in Victoria with a current Victorian address;
intend for the project to be developed in Victoria; and
are able to provide links 1-2 examples of recent solo or collaborative work

INFORMATION SESSION

MAV hosted an information session to help you understand the application and commission process.

Watch the recording here:

TIMELINES + DEADLINES

Submissions Open 21 July 2021
Submissions Closed 11.59pm 1 September 2021Ahead of the Curve Information Session 16 August 2021Ahead of the Curve Commissions Announced 13 Oct 2021
Creative delivery period 13 Oct 2021 → 20 Dec 2021
Workshops and mentoring sessions 15 Oct 2021 → 31 Mar 2022
Diasporas Festival Mid-Late Sep 2022Acquittal Due 31 Sep 2022

Click here to download a preview of the form.

Feel free to use this budget template or attach your own budget plan.

If you have any enquiries please contact Ahead of the Curve Creative Producer, Jess Ibacache at jess@mav.org.au.

Supported by The Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.

Project

Past project

Ahead of the Curve

Mon 19 Jul 2021 - Wed 31 Aug 2022

The Ahead of the Curve Commissions was a call out for young and emerging artists of colour living around Melbourne, to create new digital artworks that responded to social challenges, including COVID-19.