Would you like to explore the intersection between music and your creative practice?

Manchester Collective are looking to commission a set of new works from three Greater Manchester artists representing diverse disciplines. You could be a performer or a visual artist, a composer, dancer, or photographer… The possibilities are endless.

Your new work will be a creative response to a piece of music: ‘Weather’ by New York-based composer Michael Gordon. The commission might respond to the title of the piece, the themes, the atmosphere, or to the music itself. Each selected artist will receive a £1000 commission fee, as well as support from the Manchester Collective team and an additional production budget of £500 to aid in the creation of their new work. 

The deadline for applications is 11:59pm on Wednesday 30 March 2022. Read on for more details and if you’re interested, apply here.

Manchester Collective create intimate and intense human experiences. Music is in our bones, and we believe in the power of that music to make an impact: to move and excite us.

We are a new kind of arts organisation, built for a fresh and diverse cultural world. Collaboration is in our DNA. We are musicians, producers, dancers and filmmakers. We are recording engineers and copywriters. We are composers, photographers and researchers. 

Here are some examples of Manchester Collective projects to give you a flavour of recent collaborations: Dark Days, Luminous Nights / The Oracle / The Centre is Everywhere.

Northern Voices is a commissioning programme by Manchester Collective celebrating the extraordinary artistic talent in our region: creators with distinct vision, whose work is bold and resonant. 

Launched in 2021, the initiative has so far seen more than ten local artists, writers and creative freelancers respond imaginatively to the Collective’s work. Their creations span different mediums – from film, music and photography, to visual art and critical writing (in partnership with Salt Magazine). You can see their creations here.

Northern Voices 2022 will see three more artists develop new works, whilst a separate critical writing strand will be launched later in the year.

We are looking for three Greater Manchester-based artists who will be commissioned to create a new work in response to a piece of music: ‘Weather’ by Michael Gordon. ‘Weather’ will feature in an upcoming Manchester Collective project, and the new works created as part of Northern Voices will be presented alongside our show.

We are flexible about the artistic form and format that the commissions will take and will work with the artists to present their final works as part of a public event. The commissions will also be shared on our website and online channels.

Each artist will receive a £1000 commission fee, as well as time and support from our team. There’s an additional £500 production budget to go towards artistic materials or extra fees required to create the final artwork for presentation at a live event in Autumn 2022. 

The selected artists will have the opportunity to:

1. Meet the Manchester Collective artistic team to understand our creative approach and to discuss ‘Weather’. 

2. Work with our producer to help budget, shape and realise the work. 

3. Discuss the presentation format that the final artistic work will take. 

We are ready to be surprised by the shape that this commission takes so please apply even if your work isn’t generally presentation focused.

As part of Manchester Collective’s 22/23 season, we are excited to be presenting a performance of Michael Gordon’s 1998 work for amplified string orchestra, ‘Weather’. 

‘Weather’ is a big, impactful piece of music, featuring electronic sounds as well as live performances by the orchestra, with a duration of about an hour. The music is intense – one movement features a series of wailing air-raid sirens, and in another, the sound of the string players is distorted to sound like a set of electric guitars.

‘Weather’ is in four parts, and the full work can be heard here. You can read some of the composer’s own notes on the piece here.

Music is at the heart of the Collective’s work, and you will need to use ‘Weather’ as a point of inspiration in the creation of your new work. Your commission might respond to the title of the piece, the themes, the atmosphere, or to the music itself. You should take your inspiration from whatever it is that most powerfully resonates with you.

Northern Voices is open to artists and creative practitioners – performers, visual artists, designers, composers, makers, dance artists, musicians, spoken word artists, creative technologists, and many others – who are currently living in or whose work practice is based in Greater Manchester and are over the age of 18.

We would like the commissioned artists to reflect the range of creatives working in Greater Manchester and are excited about bringing diverse perspectives and stories into our work.

This opportunity has been specifically devised to support individual artists, and as such, we do not encourage applications from artists teams or collectives.

Work on Northern Voices should take place between May and July 2022 so that the final work is ready at the end of this period. The time you spend with Manchester Collective will be scheduled flexibly around other commitments. We will provide regular catch ups to develop the project and track progress.

All commissioned artists should be willing to share details about their artistic process and experience in making the work. We may also ask you to participate in publicity about Northern Voices, which could include being interviewed, photographed or filmed in relation to your work – our team will support you in this process.

You can apply either by answering a set of questions in writing or by video/audio submission (see next section for the questions). Whichever format you choose, please complete our online form here.

If applying by submitting video or audio – this is just a different method of applying to suit your preferred means of communication. We will not be considering the production value of this video or audio as part of your application.

As part of the application process, we’d like to hear about your project idea and how it relates to ‘Weather’. We do not need to know how you would allocate the budget for the project – this is something we would discuss and develop together after artists have been shortlisted. However, it will be important for you to have considered whether your idea is realistically achievable within the budget provided. 

The deadline for applications is 11:59pm on Wednesday 30 March 2022. Shortlisted artists will be invited to a remote interview (conducted via video call) in the week commencing 25 April, where we will ask more detail about the project in terms of how you may allocate the budget or who you might collaborate with. All applicants will hear back on the status of their application within three weeks of the closing date.   

If you have any further questions and would like an informal chat about the commission or application process, please contact Adam Szabo at adam@manchestercollective.co.uk.

The application form is split into four sections listed below. There is no time limit to complete the form, but we recommend completing the application questions section in a separate document first, in case you have any internet issues. You can save your progress if you’re logged into a Google account whilst completing the form. 

Section 1: Contact Details

1. Full Name
2. Artist Name
3. Email Address
4. Phone Number
5. Postcode
6. Primary Artform
7. Provide up to 3 links to your work portfolio or to examples of your previous work.
8. Are you applying via a written application or via an audio or video file?

Section 2: Application Questions (answer these either in writing – up to 200 words per question – or via an audio/video file up to 5 minutes long)

1. Tell us about your artistic practice and what you’re about.
2. Tell us about your proposed new work, and how it might respond to 'Weather' by Michael Gordon.
3. What excites you about this opportunity?
4. Is there anything else you would like us to know?

Section 3: Personal Identity (select from a list of options)

1. Gender identity
2. Age group
3. Disability
4. Neurodiversity
5. Ethnicity
6. Socio-economic background
7. Where did you find out about this opportunity?

Section 4: Mailing List

We would like to keep in touch with you via email. Tick the boxes if you want to join our newsletter or hear about similar future opportunities. 

We encourage proposals from people with specific access needs and are happy to help with both your application process (relative to needs) and the commission itself. We also have a discretionary budget set aside to address any specific access requirements in order to ensure each commission is flexible and its outcomes are as inclusive as possible. 

If you have any questions or need any support in preparing your application, please email Adam Szabo at adam@manchestercollective.co.uk. If it’s more convenient, we can also arrange to give you a call and speak on the phone.

Northern Voices 2022 is supported by The Granada Foundation and public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England