Stirchley Printworks is the West Midlands centre for contemporary printmaking. Located in Stirchley, South Birmingham, our aim is to provide high-quality printmaking facilities to artists and to make printmaking accessible to all.

 

Having recently received funding from Arts Council England, we are excited to offer a residency programme, beginning in summer 2024, with the aim of making printmaking more accessible to artists from backgrounds that are underrepresented in Printmaking.
 

The SPW Residency Programme offers four West Midlands based artists from underrepresented backgrounds the chance to become artists in residence at Stirchley Printworks for 6 months. During this time, they will have the freedom to experiment with different printmaking techniques and approaches to produce new work, culminating in an exhibition at a local Birmingham gallery. The selected resident artists will receive the following:

 

·  Six months free membership to Stirchley Printworks, including free 24/7 access to the studio and our high-quality facilities.

·  A payment of £2500 per artist, for participating in the programme.

·  A materials stipend of £300 per artist, to spend on materials during the course of the residency.

·  Artistic and technical support from James Turner, director of Stirchley Printworks.

·  A shared exhibition with one other resident artist, at a Birmingham-based gallery (Location to be confirmed) including curatorial support from Artefact curator, Gugan Gill. 

 

This opportunity is open to people currently based in The West Midlands (Birmingham, The Black Country and Coventry) who are from backgrounds that are underrepresented in the creative industries. This includes but is not limited to:
 

·   Artists from Global Majority backgrounds

·   Artists with disabilities

·   Artists who are neurodivergent 

·   Artists from working class backgrounds

·   Artists from GRT backgrounds

·   Artists who have experienced homelessness

·   Artists from the LGBTQIA+ community

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The aim of the residency programme is to provide support and development opportunities to people from these backgrounds, in the hopes of redressing the problem of underrepresentation within the arts and particularly in printmaking.

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This opportunity is open to artists working in all creative disciplines and prior experience of printmaking is not required. A full induction will be provided, along with ongoing technical support. You do not need to be working in the creative industries to be eligible for this position.

 

To apply for this opportunity, please complete the application form shared below. Applications will close at midnight on 01/07/24 and successful artists will be notified by 08/07/24.

 

For accessibility information, please download our

'Visitor Access Guide'. If you have any further questions, please email us at stirchley.printworks@gmail.com. 

 

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With thanks to our project partners:

Artefact Projects, SAMPAD, Northfield Arts Forum, The Gap Arts, Ikon Gallery, Friends of Stirchley Library, MAIA Group, Grand Union Gallery, Eastside Projects.

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