Electric Picnic announces €10k artist-in-residence programme

Electric Picnic has announced an artists' bursary of €10,000 to tie in with this year's festival.

The project, under the Diverse Individual Visual Artists (Diva) programme, will see a group of artists living and working on-site during the two-week “build phase” of the festival. The aim is that they will produce a piece that will create a backdrop for the festival, which takes place on September 2nd to 6th.

The finished piece should “suit the festival environment, both visually and practically” and the artists will work as “a part of the festival community and of the fabric of the festival itself”.

Diva was devised by artist Clare Hartigan. "It was a reaction to the difficulty in finding exhibition spaces and funding, that didn't require lengthy academic plans and proposals," she said. "If you get selected for the artist-in-residency programme you and your team will in a sense become a silent band and your stage is Electric Picnic with a guaranteed audience of 55,000. You need to be brave. It is exciting yet contemplative, huge yet personal, temporary yet permanent, playful and yet deadly serious all at the same time. This is a chance to show what you can do and to be a pure diva."

Applicants are asked to send evidence of their previous work, with a biography or CV and plenty of images, to sorcha@eventdesignstudio.ie. Artists can apply as a group or as individuals, though a group will be formed for the final project from successful applicants. The group will work with the festival’s team and co-curators to bring the project together.

The deadline for applicants is noon on July 10th, with the winning artists announced on July 17th. The piece will have to be finished by August 25th.

A total of €10,000 will be awarded to the winning group. This must include the cost of materials for the piece, and the organisation is encouraging the use of reclaimed material. For more information, see electricpicnic.ie.