Applications are now open for the 2022 Accessible Arts and Sydney Olympic Park Artist-In-Residence Program. This valuable residency will provide creative and career development for an artist with disability or who is d/Deaf from NSW or the ACT.

The opportunity comprises a four-week residency for research and development or for the creation of new work at the heritage-listed Newington Armory from 7 February to 7 March 2022.

This beautiful heritage estate in Sydney Olympic Park has been adapted for re-use as an arts, education and heritage tourism venue and has hosted residencies for over 300 artists from 19 countries working across many different disciplines.

The successful applicant can choose to stay in on-site self-catering accommodation visit the site daily to use the facilities. They will be provided with $150 per week to assist with travel and the cost of materials.

The facilities at the Newington Armory provide a range of options for artists with disability to focus on creating art as well as developing their creative practice and we’re delighted to be working with the Sydney Olympic Park Authority to deliver this valuable opportunity for an artist with disability to explore and develop their creative potential,” says Interim CEO, Liz Martin.

Who Can Apply?

This exciting residency 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.

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

Apply Now

We’re accepting applications via Survey Monkey as well as other accessible formats including Auslan, audio, video, printed, dictated, electronic and handwritten formats.

You can apply via Survey Monkey or to download a Word doc or PDF of the application form please click: PDF | Word

Applications close 5pm on Monday 29 November 2022.

All applicants will be notified of the results by the end of December 2021.

To discuss your specific requirements, please contact Marika Perrow, Arts Development Manager, by email at mperrow@aarts.net.au or phone 02 9251 6499.

More Details about the Residency

The Artist Residency will take place across a number of buildings located at Newington Armory, Sydney Olympic Park. 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.)

The successful applicant can choose to commute to the site each day or may live on-site for the duration of the residency. If the artist takes up the offer to live onsite, they will have a 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.

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.

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.

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.

Please note, for the purposes of promoting the residency, the successful applicant agrees to make themselves available for interviews, filming and other social media opportunities. Where mutually agreed, the artist will provide Accessible Arts and Sydney Olympic Park Authority with permission to reproduce and/or share the art created during the residency. The successful applicant will be responsible for arranging their own transport to and from Newington Armory and any support services that may be required while they are on site.

If you have any questions about this residency, please email info@aarts.net.au or phone 02 9251 6499.

ENDS

Image Description: Two people at a table in an art studio. Both are smiling and one is painting. (Image credit: Sydney Olympic Park Authority)