One To One – Individual Artists’ Bursaries in Live Art 1999/2000

Ranging from £8,000 to £10,000, the bursaries are some of the largest development awards for Live Art ever offered in Britain. The bursaries are for artists to undertake self determined programmes of process-based work that will stimulate new ideas, develop different ways of working and ultimately enhance their artistic practice.

The One To One bursaries scheme is an unprecedented new joint initiative between the Live Art Development Agency and the Combined Arts Unit of the London Arts Board. It aims to provide innovative and individually tailored artistic and professional development opportunities for London based practitioners who work in Live Art, new performance and time based media. Uniquely, the framework and guidelines for the One To One bursaries were devised in response to the findings of a series of artists' Focus groups organised by the Live Art Development Agency in Spring 1999.

Over eighty five proposals were received from artists throughout London for the 1999/2000 One To One bursaries. From these sixteen artists were shortlisted and interviewed by the Live Art Development Agency, a representative of the London Arts Board and a small independent panel before the final list of seven artists were selected. The seven 1999/2000 One To One bursary artists represent a diversity of constituencies and practices and this in itself reflects how broad based an arena Live Art is and how potent a medium it has become in recent years.

The One To One 1999/2000 artists:

Vanessa Richards received a bursary to stimulate new approaches to, and research new audiences and new contexts for, performance poetry. Her bursary programme will include developing new writing methods and researching digital video making as well as taking stock of her practice to date and exploring new networks.

Stacy Makishi received a bursary to research film and video techniques and movement work in her practice, to develop a safe space for artists dialogues and experiments, Wakiki Salons, and to try out new ideas without the pressure of achieving commercial success.

Christine Molloy received a bursary to develop her skills in, and her knowledge of, new technologies and their implications for, and applications to, live work.

Robert Pacitti received a bursary to research new processes and contexts and to undertake formal and conceptual enquiries around his practice througha series of treatments around ideas of drowning.

Craig Sheppard received a bursary to enhance his skills base in performance and writing, to raise his awareness of spatial concerns and to develop new performance vocabularies via a series of Secret Works.

Ronald Fraser-Munro received a bursary to develop his use of software in digitally based performance, to develop new writings and to enhance his performance skills base.

Aaron Williamson received a bursary to extend his training in, and experience of, digital media and to establish a studio, as opposed to theatre, based practice.

Background to One To One Bursary Scheme

The exploratory processes and broad based disciplines of Live Art demand different approaches to ideas of art and artists development.

Conventional ideas of training, product placement and vertical career trajectories are often unable to effectively address how artists are supported in their artistic and professional development. Under pressure to produce new work and simply survive in the cultural market place, many artists engaging with Live Art are denied opportunities to fully formulate their ideas or their practices or self-determine their role and representation. Moreover, how ideas come into being is a complex process in itself and given that Live Art is grounded in ideas and imagining different ways of approaching art and audiences, supporting the development of new ideas is not only intrinsic to, but is also the driving force of the Live Art sector.

The One To One bursary scheme is an an opportunity to actively contribute to artists¹ development by introducing new ways of responding to individual artists and their diverse needs and unpicking and influencing the forces that impact on their practice The scheme will be continued in 2000/2001.