OPEN CALL Making Marks Connect ME

Arab British Centre and British Council’s Making Marks programme goes digital, offering new opportunities for collaborative commissions to artists in the GCC and the UK. Website hosting the work of Making Marks alumni, whose final show was cancelled due to Covid-19, will also be launching alongside a programme of events exploring their work.

The Arab British Centre, in partnership with the British Council, has announced a new digital residency opportunity for artists aged 18-30, based in the GCC (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) and the United Kingdom.

This opportunity called Connect ME is part of their Making Marks programme and will see artists in the UK paired with an artist based in the Gulf to create new, collaborative work that considers how digital tools can encourage connectivity across borders. Applications are welcome from artists and creatives of any discipline. The results could be anything from an augmented reality experience to a short film, a zine, a live performance – the only stipulation is it must be delivered to the public through digital channels.

Participating artists will benefit from a residency fee of £1000, guidance and support from The Arab British Centre and a dedicated mentor from a UK culture organisation, as well as workshops and crit sessions with “visiting” artists and mentors during four weeks. Two digital residencies, each for two pairs of artists, will take place before the end of 2020. This Open Call is for the first of the two residencies, taking place from July-August.

The Connect ME digital programme has been devised as a way to stimulate international connections and creativity despite the restrictions on movement that the COVID-19 pandemic has enforced. Connect ME is a digital continuation of the Arab British Centre’s Making Marks programme, the recent climax of which was cancelled due to the pandemic.

Amani Hassan, programme director of the Arab British Centre said “We are so excited to launch this new opportunity for young artists across the GCC and the UK and create a permanent online home for the work of the Making Marks alumni. Now more than ever, we want to support emerging talent and offer opportunities to artists to develop their practice, create new collaborative work, and make new connections across borders. Making Marks is built around this spirit of exchange, and we hope that the Connect ME digital residency will serve as an opportunity for artists across the UK and GCC to build new friendships, and confront the universal challenges facing emerging creatives the world over.”

Heba El Zein, Head of Programmes and Partnerships of the British Council Kuwait said “The Making Marks: Connect ME Digital residency is a partnership between British Council and The Arab British Centre in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The residency will provide young artists in the Gulf and UK the opportunity to enhance exchange and international collaboration."

Making Marks ran throughout 2019 as an exchange programme between young creatives and artists in the UK and Kuwait. Working in partnership with arts institutions in Kuwait and the four UK regions, Making Marks facilitated group visits for nominated artists under the age of 30 to Kuwait and the UK and offered to fund creative work and community engagement programmes under the project’s themes of international working and exchange. The culmination of this project, a group exhibition in Kuwait, was due to take place in March 2020 but was cancelled due to the global lockdown. To showcase the work of the eight artists affected by this cancellation – and the work of any future young creatives that participate in a Making Marks programme - the Arab British Centre will be building a new website to host the work that was created by these promising young artists across the fields of sculpture, photography, dance, curation and visual art. Their work and experiences of the exchange will also be explored through an online events programme in July, including a group discussion exploring the commissions of the artists, and a workshop about Why Digital Matters, led by artist and educator Hydar Dewachi, aimed at emerging artists. Events will be listed on the Arab British Centre website and free to attend.

Applications must be submitted before 23:00 GMT+1 on 5 July.

The Connect ME Summer Residency Open Call is open now to artists 18-30 years old, of all disciplines, based in the UK and GCC. Applications can be submitted in English or Arabic, the details for which can be found on the Arab British Centre website.