Artist Opportunity

OUTLINE OF BRIEF

Newhampton Arts Centre is seeking to commission up to five artists to co-create maps of Whitmore Reans in Wolverhampton, with local communities. These maps will be a creative representation of the area’s communities, networks, activities and needs. They do not need to be in the style of a traditional map, the projects could use any artform to create a representation of the area in partnership with local people and organisations. 

CONTEXT

Newhampton Arts Centre (NAC) is a community arts centre based in Whitmore Reans, a hyper-diverse area of considerable social deprivation on the edge of Wolverhampton city centre. NAC’s programme has always embraced a mixture of creative and community-focused activity. Amongst the 21 resident organisations onsite is a radio station, two recording studios, a group of visual artists and also adult day care. Regular classes weekly include dance, youth theatre and English for Speakers of Other Languages.

Like all cultural organisations in the UK, NAC was forced to shut its doors during the successive lockdowns in 2020-1. It is now in a phase of post-COVID recovery and is seeking to take this opportunity to redefine the role that it can play in improving the lives of the citizens of Whitmore Reans and Wolverhampton. We are sure that there is more that NAC could and should be doing. 

Rather than taking a decision ourselves we would like to find out more about what is needed by co-creating work with our local communities. As an arts centre we want artists to lead this process of discovery and display, through the commissioning of 5 artists to work with groups in Whitmore Reans and through a process of discussion and co-creation make maps of communities, networks, activities and needs. 

The project concludes with a public exhibition and community sharing event drawing the stakeholders together to debate and ultimately make recommendations to NAC as to what additional role(s) are most needed. Curiosity Productions are managing this project on behalf of NAC.