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

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 Young Leader – Lily Hayman – lily.hayman@shopfront.org.au

Our Shopfront ArtsLab artists for 2022/23 will receive:

  • Six-month access to studio/rehearsal space –days and times by negotiation (August -March);
  • 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 in March 2023
  • 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.

Applications open August.
Information session: Wednesday 9 August 6pm (online)
Residency: October 2023 – March 2024
Presentation: March 2024

Open to Western Sydney and North West Sydney artists, Shopfront continues to expand the ArtsLab program with a focused residency in 2023, delivered in partnership with Q Theatre, Penrith. Applications close 30 April 2023. Visit Shopfront’s website for more information.


Information session: Wednesday 12 April 6pm (online)
Residency: May – October 2023
Presentations:
18 – 22 October 2023, 107 Projects Redfern
6 – 11 November 2023, 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

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