Artist Call-Out

On Your Bike: Bradford’s Two Wheel Cultures

Capital of Cycling and creative producers HATCH are working together to deliver On Your Bike: Bradford’s Two Wheel Cultures, supported by Bradford 2025. The project will celebrate and build on cultures of cycling across the Bradford district by telling powerful stories about cycling and what it means to people. 

We would like to commission three artists, working in any art form, to work with members of the cycling community to creatively document cycling stories from the following groups:

  • West Bowling Women’s Cycling Group – a group of mainly south-Asian heritage and other local women who support each other in cycling activities, many of whom have only recently learned to cycle
  • Sandale/Buttershaw  – working in conjunction with the Sandale Trust and a local Youth Centre, this Buttershaw based group has set up a mechanics volunteering workshop to help get working bikes out into the community
  • Keighley Group – based around Devonshire Park, a community group is working to create opportunities for local residents including cycling and maintenance activity in the park

The project has two stages:

Stage 1: Sept – Nov 2024

Stage 1 is an exploration of storytelling ideas and creative approaches, led by the cycling groups, which culminates in a sharing session where all groups and artists share a meal and their creative explorations with each other.

Stage 2: Dec 2024 – Apr 2025

Building on ideas and approaches from Stage 1, Stage 2 will develop creative outcomes for showcasing at an event in April 2025. The week-long showcase event will also offer creative and cycling activities that will engage the wider cycling community and general public, inspiring changes in attitudes and behaviours around cycling.

Capital of Cycling and HATCH are also looking at additional sources of funding to add value to the existing April 2025 showcase event, and also to develop the project further through the year.

Schedule of Work

Stage 1 – 2024

  • September: Artist Introduction Session with HATCH & Capital of Cycling
  • September – October: 3 half day sessions with allocated group
  • November: Sharing Session
  • November: Evaluation/reflection with HATCH & Capital of Cycling

Stage 2 – 2024-25

  • December – Feb: 3 half day sessions with allocated group
  • March: Production
  • April: Showcase installation and half day delivery of creative activity at showcase
  • May: Evaluation/reflection with HATCH & Capital of Cycling

Fees and production budget/artist

Stage 1

Artist fee: £1350
Production/materials: £300

Stage 2

Artist fee: £1600
Production/materials: £500

Application Process

Artist Criteria 

  • Strong track record of working with communities and creatively telling their stories.
  • Flexible and responsive to communities and their ideas, and prepared to try new ways of working in response to their needs.

To apply please send to hello@hatchprojects.org.uk:

  • A CV or portfolio of community arts work
  • Up to 5 images of your work
  • Expression of interest answering the following questions
    • Tell us about your experience of working with communities
    • Tell us why you’re interested in this project
    • Tell us about your practice and how you would use it to approach this project

We are happy to receive filmed or written expressions of interest (max 1 page of A4 or 5 min film in total).

Artist Q&A Session

We will be holding an online Artist Q&A on Monday 15th July at 2pm, where you can ask Capital of Cycling and HATCH any questions you may have ahead of sending in your expression of interest. Please book your place at the Q&A and we’ll send out a link nearer the date.

We will be sharing your expression of interest with the cycling groups so that they can select which artist they would like to work with, so please address your answers to the questions above as if you were speaking directly to them.

Deadline: 12 noon on Monday 22nd July

Selection process

  • By end of July – HATCH & Capital of Cycling shortlist artists
  • Late August/early September – HATCH & Capital of Cycling share expressions of interest with groups so they can select who they want to work with
  • Mid September – successful artists informed and start to work with cycling groups

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