BOUND

Thanks to the Creative Scotland pARTners fund, Visible Fictions is seeking to

appoint a Dance/Physical Theatre Artist to take up a 6 month residency at Polmont
Young Offenders Institute.

Introduction
For the past three years, Visible Fictions has undertaken a series of successful performance and
theatre related projects in Polmont Young Offenders Institute. Building on that success and
learning, the company is now seeking to appoint an artist in residence to work in new, ambitious
directions, working with the young inmates and also with their families, communities and others
whose lives the prison system affects.

Background
Visible Fictions recognises that for many of the young participants, words can often be a difficult
mode of self-expression. From our experience, we have recognised that for the majority of these
young people, feelings both positive and less then positive, are often expressed physically - at
times very potently. With this in mind, the company wish to harness this energy and recruit a high-
quality dance/physical theatre practitioner who will work in Polmont Young Offenders Institute.

Visible Fictions has developed a thematic approach to working artistically and for 2011-2013 our
selected areas of exploration are:

BOUND - Exploring questions of legacy and destiny - how they move us forward and hold us back
DARE - Exploring the journeys, questions and consequences of risk and gamble
ESCAPE - Investigates how, where or why we seek refuge or sanctuary

Taking the same creative starting point, and connecting with Bound, this project will work with
both young offenders and families of offenders to explore risk and reward, the role of the past in
shaping our future and what happens to families and communities when someone is missing or
excluded.

Project Aims
The project will work over two strands of artistic activity that will feed into and support each other:

Firstly, the artist in residence will lead a team of artists working within Polmont Young Offenders
Institute. Their task is to inspire the participants directly with performance related activity and to
explore the theme of Bound through artistic enquiry. At the same time, the artists will collaborate
and connect with small community groups and families of offenders to explore the same themes.
These activities will move towards the generation of material by both young offenders and families
which will be used in a final piece to be performed in the prison by the young inmates and family
members.
Secondly, throughout the project, 50% of the artist’s time will be spent working on their own
practice towards a performance piece (inspired by their connection to the communities they have
been working with) to be shared with the participants and with other members of the artistic
community. It is envisaged that the sharing will be both a piece of art in itself and a physical
‘evaluation’ of the participation process.

Engagement of Artist
Visible Fictions are offering a fee of £15,000 for a 6 month full-time engagement to begin in June
2011.

The appointed artist will also be provided with support from a youth drama specialist, a second
specialist artist (dramaturg, director, writer, musician as required), as well as rehearsal space and
support to develop their own practice.

Required Experience and Skills

• The ability to demonstrate leadership within creative projects
• Enthusiasm for taking creative risks when exploring new approaches to creating
performance based work for, with, and by young people
• Understanding of the need for artistic excellence within both their own and
participation work
• Passion for engaging and collaborating with marginalised groups
• Willingness to connect with artists from other disciplines and to push own artistic
boundaries
• The ability to be flexible within challenging environments and to respond accordingly
to the needs of others
• This post requires the successful applicant to undergo an enhanced disclosure check

How to make an application

Expressions of interest for the opportunity should be a cover letter no longer than two A4 pages
outlining:
• how you would approach the project and explore the theme of Bound both within the
young offenders institute, community settings and within your own practice.
• what other artists or art forms you would envisage bringing to the project (e.g. writer,
dramaturg, director)
• examples of relevant experience and skills with reference to requirements listed
above

Please include a current CV and any DVDs of your previous work that you consider relevant.

Deadline
Applications should be submitted via email to info@visiblefictions.co.uk or posted to Paul
Gorman, Visible Fictions, Suite 325/327, 11 Bothwell Street, Glasgow G2 6LY to arrive by 5pm on
Friday 15th April

Interviews
Interviews will be held in the week of the 25th April at Polmont YOI and involve a 20 minute
workshop with a group of young men followed by a 40 minute interview with Visible Fictions and
staff from Polmont YOI.