In partnership with Sydney Olympic Park Authority, Accessible Arts is offering two (2) places for a 4-week residency at the heritage-listed Newington Armory. The first residency will be available from 18 October – 14 November. The second residency will be available from 22 November – 19 December. Applications are now open for NSW and ACT artists with disability or who are d/Deaf.

About The Residency

The Accessible Arts and Sydney Olympic Park Authority Artist-In-Residence program is a 4-week residency for research and development or for the creation of new work.

Application Selection Criteria

1. Potential of the artist – artistic standing of applicant and artistic merit of the proposal
2. Impact on career – benefit of the residency to the applicant’s professional development or the successful realisation of the proposal

Please note, for the purposes of promoting the residency, artists agree to make themselves available for interviews, filming and other social media opportunities. Where mutually agreed, artists will provide Accessible Arts and Sydney Olympic Park Authority with permission to reproduce and/or share the art created during the residency.

Who Can Apply?

The Accessible Arts and Sydney Olympic Park Authority Artist-in-Residence program is open to emerging or mid-career professional visual artists with disability or who are d/Deaf. Applicants must be living and/or working in NSW or the ACT.

What About Access?

Artists-in-residence can either commute to the site each day, or may live onsite for the duration of the residency.

Artists-in-residence who take up the offer to live onsite will each have one bedroom, a studio space and kitchen access (with the living accommodation component being subject to the nature of the artist’s access requirements, as the accommodation does not have step-free access).

The residency will take place across a number of buildings located at Newington Armory, Sydney Olympic Park Australia. Further information on the Armory site can be found below. Applicants are requested to outline any specific access requirements they may have on their application (for example: wheelchair accessible accommodation, extra accommodation for a support worker, etc.)

When Can I Apply?

Applications are now open and will close on Friday 27 August 2021.

All applicants will be notified of the results by Tuesday 7 September 2021 via email.

Information On Applying

We are accepting applications for the residency via Survey Monkey as well as other accessible formats. These include Auslan, audio, video, printed, dictated, electronic and handwritten formats. Please contact Liz Martin, Arts Development Manager, Accessible Arts by email lmartin@aarts.net.au or telephone 02 8379 3102 to discuss your specific requirements.

To apply by Survey Monkey, please visit: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2021AccessibleArtsandSydneyOlympicParkAuthorityartistinresidenceprogramapplication

To download a Word doc or PDF of the application form please click: PDF | Word

Please direct any enquiries to: Liz Martin, Arts Development Manager, Accessible Arts by email lmartin@aarts.net.au or telephone 02 8379 3102 or Tony Nesbitt, Sydney Olympic Park Authority by email tony.nesbitt@sopa.nsw.gov.au or telephone 0438 430 806.

We invite you to read on for more information about Newington Armory, Sydney Olympic Park.

Where Is Newington Armory?

Newington Armory is located at the northern end of Sydney Olympic Park and is bordered by the Parramatta River to the north, the Newington Nature Reserve to the east, Blaxland Riverside Park to the west and the suburb of Newington to the south.  The street address is Jamieson Street, Silverwater.

What Is Newington Armory?

Newington Armory is a heritage-listed former Naval Armaments Depot that has been adapted for re-use as an arts, education and heritage tourism venue.  It is 22 hectares in size, and includes approximately 100 buildings, a heritage railway and a mixed landscape of rolling lawns and plantings of mature trees.  Six of the buildings have been adapted for re-use as arts facilities:  Building 24 Visual Arts Studios; Building 22 Armory Theatre; Building 122 Artists-in-Residence cottage; Building 50 Artists Wood Workshop; Building 233 Artists Metal Workshop; and Building 18 Armory Gallery.

What Is The Artist-In-Residence Program?

Since 2005, the Armory has hosted almost 300 artists from 19 countries working across many different disciplines as part of our artist-in-residence program.  Usually, those from overseas or places other than Sydney elect to take up the onsite accommodation offer.   The large proportion of program participants do not live onsite and use the artmaking facilities on a daily basis.

What’s On Offer?

As part of this residency, the successful applicants will be provided with self-catering accommodation (if required and suitable) and a small stipend ($150 per week) to assist with travel and materials costs. Applicants will be responsible for arranging their own transport to and from Newington Armory and any support services that may be required.

The Building 24 Visual Arts studios are located on flat terrain and feature ramps inside to provide access.  This building includes 15 studio spaces in an open plan layout, and includes equipment for painting, ceramics, printmaking and sculpture.

These facilities are supported by equipped wood and metal workshops that come with a range of tools for more expansive sculptural projects.

The Armory Theatre (near to the Building 24 studios) has an accessible bathroom, and the site also includes other amenity blocks and a nearby café.

The Armory does not have a dedicated internet connection, so all applicants would be required to make their own arrangements for such services.

Find Out More

If you have any questions about this program, please contact us at info@aarts.net.au or call on 02 9251 6499.

ENDS

Image Description: Two women are at a table in an art studio (Image credit: SOPA)