ArtsLab

ArtsLab is one of Australia’s premier emerging artist programs

Take a sneak peek into the ArtsLab experience.
ArtsLab 2022: Have We Been Here Before. Video by David Molloy

Applications for ArtsLab 23/24 are now CLOSED.
Applications for ArtsLab WNW 2024 will open in April 2024.

 

ArtsLab is Shopfront Arts Co-op’s flagship emerging artist residency program. A six-month laboratory that offers free space, masterclasses, networking opportunities and professional mentorship. The residency culminates in a festival-style season to present your work to the public.
This residency isn’t just about creating work; it is about learning what it takes to have a sustainable career in the arts.

We are committed to creating inclusive and accessible opportunities for all artists to create new work in any form: dance, visual art, theatre, film, music, performance, digital art and more. ArtsLab is for early-career artists aged 18 – 26. We welcome diversity and encourage artist submissions from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and people with disability. Creative Director – Natalie Rose – natalie.rose@shopfront.org.au Associate Producer – Lily Hayman – lily.hayman@shopfront.org.au

Our Shopfront ArtsLab artists will receive:

  • Six-month access to studio/rehearsal space –days and times by negotiation
  • The opportunity to create work remotely if it suits your practice or access requirements, or you just prefer to work in your own space;
  • Regular catch ups with other residents and Shopfront artistic team;
  • Masterclasses;
  • Mid-point development showing;
  • An industry leader as mentor throughout the process;
  • Dramaturgical support from Shopfront’s Creative Director;
  • Technical support for mid-point showing and full season of your work;
  • Premiere your new work as a part of the ArtsLab festival season
  • Shopfront investment in the ArtsLab works for further development and/or future seasons at Shopfront or other venues.

 

In preparing your application, you will need to compile the following: Your biography as an artist or your artistic company’s biography; information about your proposed project including what you will explore, your chosen discipline, what you will do, details of any other artists involved and why you have chosen them, your artistic rationale, a proposed schedule and how you will achieve it, your plans for the future, and any additional supporting information.

The ArtsLab 2024 Residents have now been selected.

2023/24 ArtsLab Artists: Emily Whiting and Aiden Smith. Leah Herbert, Tom Hetherington-Welch and Oliver Durbidge (Highly Strung Puppets), Gabe Faatau’Satiu, Fatima Naqvim, Mym Kwa

Open to Western Sydney and North West Sydney artists, Shopfront continues to expand the ArtsLab program with a focused residency in 2024, delivered in partnership with Q Theatre, Penrith.

Applications will open in April 2024. 


Residency: May – October 2024
Presentations:
23 – 27 October 2024, 107 Projects Redfern
14 – 16 November 2024, The Joan Penrith

Presented in partnership with Q Theatre

The entire team at Shopfront have afforded me a memory, and a confidence in myself I could not find elsewhere. And if I, a single participant in your Artslab program, can experience this – I cannot imagine the amount of lives you have impacted. What I really want to say is thank you. Not just for how you and the team have changed my life, but for the ripple effect of positivity and self belief you grant to the community and the kids I see on your stage. They are discovering things they only could in the space Shopfront provides.

Tom Crotty – Artslab Alumni

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed!