WHO WE ARE
The Collaborative Touring Network (CTN) is a collective of 8 organisations based in Wigan, Gloucester, Torbay, Thanet, Peterborough, Bradford, Bridlington and Stoke-on-trent.
Our towns and cities have often been overlooked and under-resourced, but we believe every town deserves life-affirming, soul-shaking, perspective-changing performance. We work with artists and communities to make this possible in our places.
Practised in working together over the last decade, CTN believes that projects developed and toured collaboratively, with a local and national perspective, can better relate to audiences.
THE IDEA
Between September 2023 and April 2024, the Collaborative Touring Network (CTN) will partner with an artist/company to tour a piece of live performance across England.
We want to partner with an artist/company interested in connecting with communities nationally, and in sharing a piece of work that resonates deeply across our different places.
We are interested in models of touring that shift more power and resource into the hands of artists. We bring artists into our places, and support artists who are already based and working here.
We are interested in partnering with artists/companies working in any form of live performance.
As a network, our work is not often based in typical arts venues or centres. We present work in all sorts of spaces where community happens.
Gathering people for a shared experience is important for us. We are curious about ways to do this both physically and digitally. We are interested in hybrid projects, that blend artforms and can appeal to new audiences.
As a network, in this moment, we are particularly interested in work that explores one, some, or all the following questions:
- What do young people want from a live performance?
- Can touring be environmentally sustainable?
- How can a piece of national touring work connect more deeply with the people in our places?
We want to support a creative idea and process that speaks to some of these ideas.
Above all, we are interested in supporting and touring work which resonates with the people of our places, and which moves them; to laughter, to tears, to dance, to action.
You can find out more about our previous and current work with artists and communities at ctn.org.uk.
Our current project Burnt Out In Biscuit Land is touring nationally between April-July 2023. A collaboration with disabled-led arts organisation Touretteshero, this live experience developed with the network blends film, performance and conversation, exploring resistance and joy in the face of a crisis.
TIMELINE
The application process for this commission will run as follows:
Expression of Interest Application form goes live on Thursday 18 May.
We will run a Zoom Information Session for artists on Thursday 1 June, 5-6pm. Sign up for this free information session here.
Expressions of Interest will close on Monday 19 June at 10am.
Applications will be reviewed and shortlisted by the 8 CTN partner organisations and 2 independent artists, between 20-27 June.
CTN Partners and independent artists will meet on Monday 3 July to review a shortlist of applications.
We will invite 4 artists/companies to a Zoom conversation for the second stage of this process. These conversations will take place between 12-21 July. Artists will be offered expenses to support their time at these online conversations.
The artist we will partner with will be confirmed by 31 July.
Our partnership with the artist will be begin from September 2023, with a planning and project development phase.
The artist we work with will then tour their work across the network between February 2024 and April 2024, according to a schedule to be mutually agreed between the network and the artist.
MORE DETAIL AND BUDGET INFORMATION
The artist/company we partner with, will work with the network to develop their project and touring plans between September 2023 and January 2024.
The artist/company will then be touring their work to the 8 CTN partner locations between February – April 2024. These places are Bridlington, Gloucester, Bradford, Thanet, Peterborough, Torbay, Stoke-on-trent and Wigan.
There is a project budget of £100,000 (inclusive of VAT) to support this work. This budget will be co-designed between CTN project leads and the artist, and will cover all creative fees (preparation, touring, evaluation), logistics (travel, accommodation, per diems) and contingency.
There is an expectation for the artist/company to spend up to 5 days on tour in each location.
There is an expectation for the artist/company to share 3 performances with audiences in each touring location.
The touring project must include opportunity for creative collaboration with a local Associate Artist based in each of the 8 locations. Fees for this local Associate Artist are covered separately by CTN (see below).
The project must include opportunity for communities to connect creatively not just as audiences, but in other ways too. This might happen before or during the touring week, or both.
In addition to the co-designed project budget (£100k), CTN supports the following costs:
- 8 Local Associate Artists are paid to collaborate with the project and connect with communities locally, one in each on-tour location (fees of £2,250 per artist).
- A CTN Production Manager leads production preparation, and tours with the project, setting up non performance spaces with technical infrastructure.
- A production budget to equip non-theatre spaces with technical infrastructure is managed by our Production Manager, to create a technical specification roughly equivalent to a studio theatre.
- The development of central marketing assets to be used across tour.
- Producing support (central CTN team and partner locations).
- Budgets managed locally by CTN partners to support marketing, evaluation and audience access.
CTN is supported through public funding from Arts Council England, and by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
SUBMITTING YOUR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
Your Expression of Interest must be submitted online via the portal here.
Applications close at 10am on Monday 19 June.
You can submit your Expression of Interest as either written text (up to 750 words), an audio file (up to 5 minutes) or a video file (up to 5 minutes).
Your EOI must address the following points:
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What is your project idea?
Please tell us about the creative idea for your project. What artform are you working in? Are there any collaborators you are working with? What stage of development is the work at?
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Why are you interested in working with the Collaborative Touring Network?
Please tell us how you would like to connect with the people in our places.
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How does your project respond to one or more of the following questions:
- What do young people want from a live performance?
- Can touring be environmentally sustainable?
- How can a piece of national touring work connect more deeply with the people in our places?
You must also share links to TWO examples of your work. These could be previous projects, and/or examples of the project you are applying with. We welcome links to videos, webpages, or files to download.
We will also ask for your name, contact details, and some monitoring information. No personal data will be shared with anyone other than those working as part of the Collaborative Touring Network.
Applications will be reviewed by all 8 CTN partners, and 2 independent artists. We will shortlist applications and invite a small number of artists to attend an online conversation about their idea. We will then make a final decision and partner with 1 artist.
No feedback will be available at EOI stage.
Feedback will be available at Stage 2.
An online Zoom Information Session will run on Thursday 1 June, 5-6pm, for any artist/company interested in finding out more.
To sign up for this information session, follow the link.
If you require access support to complete an application, or if this approach doesn’t work for you, please contact Rosie Scudder, CTN Project Director, on rosies@theoldcourts.com, to arrange support or to discuss a different way of applying.
BSL Version of this information is available here.
Easy Read Version of this information is available here.
Audio Version of this information is available here.
Large Print Version of this information is available here.
Microsoft Word Version of the application form is available here.
Banner Image: ‘Bunker of Zion’ by John Pfumojena, Collaborative Touring Network 2022. Photo by JenFoto
