GRAIN Projects and Appetite are seeking submissions from artists and photographers to apply for a residency in Stoke-on-Trent. The applicant must have a photographic practice and be experienced in socially engaged project work. They are looking for an artist or photographer who will engage with the communities of Stoke-on-Trent from June – September 2017.

Photography has unique characteristics that are relevant to this project.  It has a special relationship with memory, capturing a moment in time, documenting an event, occasion or person for posterity for the archive or family album. To make a photograph, in a traditional way, you have to be there in person, present and making the photograph, as witness. The Artist or Photographer will engage with individuals and community groups that moved to or migrated to Stoke-on-Trent from within the UK or internationally; those that have made Stoke-on-Trent a city to call home, as a city to work in and a city rich with diverse communities that have shaped the city as it is today.

Objectives

• To devise and deliver an ambitious, high quality and contemporary project that engages with residents of Stoke-on-Trent
• To plan and facilitate workshops to enable participation across a broad range of communities
• To create an artwork for a public festival that is accessible and engaging, providing opportunities to participate
• To monitor and evaluate the project.

The co-commissioners will host and will provide introductions, contacts, networks and information about the individuals and community and will lead on recruitment. 

More information can be found here.

Photo Credit: Val Bansal   Dad - Baldev Singh Bansal, Stoke on Trent, 1964