Bears in the Park is looking for innovative Vienna-based artists and collectives who want to join the next round of the Huggy Bears Mentoring Programme. The programme is designed for upcoming artists who are either already working in the performance art scene and/or dance or are motivated to enlarge their previous practice with performance art. This way a special transdisciplinary learning atmosphere is created which enables a shared knowledge transfer.
The project runs from March till the end of October. During this time participants get project support that involves administrative, technical, financial and artistic help. An intensive learning environment is created through regular feedback sessions within the group and with the leaders of Bears in the Park. Along the road the selected Huggy Bears will show and foster their working process on different occasions (showings) like Handle with Care by brut Wien and collaboration with WUK and ImPulsTanz.
At the end of the programme stands the big premiere of each project on one of the established stages for performance art in Vienna. From research to rehearsal, from rehearsals to showings, and finally to the premieres, the different phases of creation are met with care, curiosity, and professional advice. Every year 3 to 6 projects (single artists or collectives) will be selected to join this journey.
The aim is to place the selected participants on the artistic map of Vienna and to support the first connection points with the audience and other professional players in town.
The mentoring programme contains:
- Monthly group meetings with the staff of Bears in the Park and the other Huggy Bear participants.
- Dramaturgy and coaching support anytime.
- Sharing/showing opportunities along the way such as Handle with Care in collaboration with brut Wien.
- Facilitated and prioritized access to our studios over the whole 7 months (our studios are accessible 24/7).
- Getting in touch with a wider network of the performance art scene in Vienna and further.
- Several exclusive workshops in the fields of production, outreach, sound, video, and light taking place in a fully equipped theater.
- Administrative and financial support (in the last years our Huggy Bear artists have been supported by BMKÖS)
Who can apply?
We are open to transdisciplinary artists, scholars, and other creative minds dealing with time-based artforms. We also encourage projects interested in reaching out into different Viennese communities and (public) spaces. By that we are hoping to bring fresh wind to the Viennese performance art scene.
For the application it is necessary that applicants line out an idea of what and how they want to make use of their time in the Bears in the Park studios and what kind of project they would like to work on during the mentoring programme. Ideally, this should not only involve the content of the project but also an idea of how to realize it.
How to apply:
For the first round we ask you to send in
- a CV and an artist bio of every team member
- a short description of your project (1 A4 max.)
- relevant material (photos, links to videos etc.) of your (previous or planned) work
- a letter of motivation
All of the application materials need to be send in one PDF file to charlotte@bearsinthepark.org until 6 November 2022. Successful candidates will then be invited for a personal interview in November & December 2022. The selected Huggy Bears will be announced in the beginning of January 2023.
