OUR HOUSE Artist Takeover – Call Out

East London Dance is looking for artists, producers or collectives to curate dance related activities at two upcoming Talent House takeover weeks.

OUR HOUSE is back! East London Dance will once again hand over creative control of our building and programme to an independent artist, producer or collective like YOU. You will make the decisions within our artistic offer and curate a week of activity that supports and celebrates your communities and peers. It is part of East London Dance’s commitment to support the careers of independent artists and producers, the creation of new work, and to ensure the Talent House is a resource and home for our creative communities. 

OUR HOUSE is part of East London Dance’s TALENT HOUSE IGNITE programme. 

The Brief:

We are looking for two independent artists, producers or collectives to reclaim their space and curate a week of activity from 18 – 24 Nov, 2024 and 10 – 16 Mar, 2025. Successful applicants will have full creative reigns in programming activity in the building and any digital or online elements you wish to include, but your week of activity must touch on the following elements:   

Embrace: Create authentic spaces to celebrate and welcome your communities  
Educate: Challenge narratives and share untold stories  
Empower: Enable access to skills, purpose, resources or space for your communities 

If selected as a curator, our East London Dance producers will work closely with you to make your creative vision a reality. You will be provided with a curator’s fee; a programming budget; space for the week (including two dance studios); event staffing; production, marketing and professional development support.

The Timeline:

• Fri 19 Jul, 9am: Applications Open
• Tue 6 Aug, 6pm: Online Info Session*
• Mon 19 Aug, 10am: Applications Close
• Week commencing 26 Aug: Interviews
• Fri 30 Aug: Curators selected 
• Early Sep: Curator briefing with East London Dance Producers
• Mon 18 – Sun 24 November: OUR HOUSE Week 1
• Mon 10 – Sun 16 Mar: OUR HOUSE Week 2 

There will also be a minimum of 6 working days with the East London Dance Project Lead, between being offered the curation and the activity week, dates to be agreed on. 

When applying you will need to confirm that you are available for all days in at least one of these weeks. Please note that even if available for both weeks, successful curators will only be offered a single week to present their takeover. 

* Join our online info session via the link below, no registration needed:

The Artist Curator must:

• Be over the age of 18
• Commit to project monitoring and evaluation
• Commit to at least 12 days of work between selection and delivery
• Have the right to work in the UK
• Be registered as self-employed and have a UK bank account
• Be willing to work collaboratively with the East London Dance project lead
• Be available for either OUR HOUSE Week 1 or Week 2 dates

The Fee:

Successful applicants will receive a £2,400 curation fee, equivalent to at least 12 days of work at £200 per day (for example 6 days in advance of the week and 6 days during the week). They will also have access to a further programming budget of £5,000 to develop and produce the proposed activities.  We envision most of this money will be spent on artist and collaborator fees and technical resourcing. 

If you apply as a group or collective the curator fee will need to be divided amongst yourselves, with one lead applicant receiving payment. 

Before applying, please read the OUR HOUSE application info pack HERE or the easy read version HERE.

Apply Now:

To apply – please complete the online form HERE by 10am on Monday 19 August. 

To make the application process as simple as possible we have a limited number of questions. There is also the opportunity to submit a video or audio application. We are not asking for detailed logistical plans or budgets; we want to get a feel for your vision as an artist. The details will come later.   

We are particularly interested in hearing from people who are underrepresented in the sector, such as those who identify as D/deaf and/or disabled, those from low socio-economic backgrounds, those from the LGBTQIA+ community, those from Global Majority heritages* or those who have experienced racism*. 

*By the term ‘Global Majority heritages’ we are referring to individuals of African or Caribbean heritage, South Asian heritage, East Asian heritage, West Asian heritage, Central Asian heritage, South East Asian heritage, people of Middle East and North African heritage. 

*By the term ‘those who have experienced racism’, we are referring to individuals who have experienced discrimination based on the colour of their skin, race and/or their culture.

If you have any access needs, are unsure about how to answer any questions, or need some guidance, we are here to help you. You can attend our online info session on Tuesday 6 August, 6pm, or you can book a 1-2-1 session with our Artist Support Producer Maren by emailing maren.ellermann@eastlondondance.org 

OUR HOUSE is supported by Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Arts Council England