| Dear Artists, With the closure of Creative Scotland’s Open Fund for Individuals earlier this week, I write to let you know what Dance Base will do in terms of practical support and advocacy. We know that for independent dance artists in Scotland, this fund is essential in developing work and sustaining livelihoods. Without this source of funding, many of the artistic projects that have been hosted or supported by Dance Base over the years, would not have taken place. In addition, Scotland’s international reputation as a centre of creativity, being showcased this month across Edinburgh Festivals, is built on the work of the incredible, creative people who choose to live and make their careers here. One of the main reasons this is possible is the existence of this fund. Part of our core purpose is to support the development of those careers. With this in mind, we will offer the following short-term support for artists. As the situation evolves, we will be in touch with further actions. - As a necessary first step, we have signed an Open Letter to the Scottish Government alongside over 150 other organisations, expressing our grave concern at the closure of the Open Fund
- For the month of September we will offer dance artists in Scotland free use of our co-working space up to one day per week. This includes desk space, free superfast wifi and access to a kitchen. To book a slot, please get in touch with our new Head of Professional Programme, Marlous Lang-Peterse.
- We are in dialogue with #LoveDanceScotland partners (The Work Room, Citymoves, Tramway, Dundee Rep/Scottish Dance Theatre, Dance North and others) to develop advocacy and lobbying strategies. We will update you as these talks progress.
We have a number of upcoming paid opportunities and would like to draw you attention to, With all these opportunities if you have any questions, please get in touch with Marlous Lang-Peterse at Marlous.Lang-Peterse@dancebase.co.uk. Artists are welcome to submit an application to any of these opportunities by video. There are also a number of opportunities from other sources listed below. We understand that this is also a lot of information to process. If you have questions about any of the above or would like help with making applications to these opportunities, please get in touch. Dance Base is here to help, advise and listen. As we enter the final week of our festival, it has been such a pleasure to see so many wonderful dancers from around the world do their thing. But I am particularly proud of our artists from Scotland who presented work this year and not just in Dance Base. I have witnessed such incredible talent on show from people and artists we have grown to know as friends and colleagues. Meeting audiences with your work is a joy and a privilege and part of what nourishes an artist. We will continue to push for this, the growth of your career and the development of your practice. Dance from Scotland is, without any doubt, strong, rich and diverse and we will play our part in making sure others know this as well. As the situation develops, we are here to listen and will remain in dialogue with our partners and will adapt as to what support we can provide. Please reach out if you need to. All the best, Tony |
