You can download a Word Document of this information here.
About the opportunity
We are excited to announce the call for proposals to participate in Platform: 2023 - Edinburgh Art Festival’s Early Career Artist Award. This annual group exhibition is designed to provide a dedicated platform for early-career artists based in Scotland and working in the field of contemporary art within Edinburgh Art Festival’s programme.
Platform has supported 32 early career artists to produce and exhibit work as part of the Edinburgh Art Festival programme since 2015. You can watch a video and find out more about the 2022 edition of Platform here.
Selected artists will receive:
- £1,500 artist fee
- £1,500 to produce your work
- £500 mentoring support
External selectors for 2023 will be Zoé Whitley and Iarlaith Ni Fheorais, alongside our Director Kim McAleese.
Deadline for proposals: Sunday 15 January 2023, Midnight
Please note: any proposals received after the deadline of Midnight Sunday 15 January 2023 will not be considered.
If you have any questions, get in touch with us at by emailing [email protected] or calling 0131 226 6558.
Who we are
Edinburgh Art Festival is the UK’s largest annual festival of visual art. Founded in 2004, we work with local and international partners to present an ambitious and meaningful programme of exhibitions, events and projects across the city.
Since its beginnings, the festival has featured exhibitions including international and UK artists at a pivotal point in their career alongside the best emerging talent, major survey exhibitions of historic figures, and a programme of newly commissioned artworks that respond to historic sites in the city.
The festival’s year-round community engagement programme has long-term relationships and partnerships across the city, creating relevant and memorable experiences with artists. We invite local people to explore culture, community, the city and self-expression, and value, with many festival commissions reflecting this unique creative relationship.
Who you are
We are looking to support early career artists who can demonstrate an independent creative practice. Applicants must be based in Scotland and have been living or working in Scotland for at least 2 years.
Work in any medium will be considered, and we welcome collaborative proposals, but the limitations to the fee and budget offered should be taken into consideration.
We understand that the term early-career is slippery and can depend on a range of factors such as access routes to the arts, career breaks and personal circumstances. The definition of early career that we will be working with for the purposes of this exhibition are:
- You must be able to demonstrate a commitment to your practice in your CV over at least four years. This includes but is not limited to studio membership, residencies, exhibitions, workshops etc.
- You will not yet have had a solo presentation within a public institution or are representation by a commercial gallery.
- You may have graduated from a Bachelor’s Degree within the period 2012–2020. Current students including those completing postgraduate courses will not be eligible.
- If you have not followed a formal education route, your CV must show that you have developed an independent contemporary art practice over at least 4 and a maximum of 10 years.
- If you do not meet the criteria of graduating between 2012 – 2020 due to personal circumstances such as parental leave, health reasons, caring responsibilities, or other work commitments – please provide a short statement (max 300 words) that shows how you meet the early career criteria.
How to Apply
To apply, please use the online application form to tell us about your practice, and propose a work or project you would like to develop for Platform: 2023, Alternatively, this information relating to your practice and proposal can be provided in a short audio or video supporting statement via the application form.
- If this is your first time creating a budget, you can use this budget template for guidance.
- You could also use this word document version of the application form to write a draft of your proposal
- You can find these resources and links here.
Applications should be submitted by Sunday 15 January 2023 at Midnight, and we will notify you of our decision by the beginning of February, 2023.
If you would like to talk through the aspects of the opportunity, the application process, require support with submitting your application or would like a paper copy of the form sent to you, please get in touch.
We also ask that you fill in an anonymous online Equal Opportunities form.
In line with The Equality Act 2010, and to assess how we are operating in line with our Equality, Disability and Inclusion aims, we collect information from applicants which does not relate to our assessment of your application. This data is used for statistical reporting only, is kept anonymous and is processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.
Selection Process
Submissions will be reviewed by the panel, including invited independent selectors Zoé Whitley and Iarlaith Ni Fheorais and our Director Kim McAleese. The panel will select artists on the basis of their eligibility and the individual quality of their proposals, as well as with a view to forming a cohesive collective presentation.
The selection panel can only assess applications on the basis of material submitted. It is therefore essential, and in your interest, to supply the highest quality visuals possible that fully represent your work.
Please be aware that while a website portfolio can provide good supporting documentation, the dedicated images or links to specific material for your project requested in the form will be the key materials reviewed by the panel.
Zoé Whitley is Director of the Chisenhale Gallery, London, having previously worked as a curator for the V&A, Tate and Hayward Gallery. She curated the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2019, was one of the judges for the Turner Prize 2021 and is a member of the recently appointed Mayor’s Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm.
Iarlaith Ni Fheorais is a curator and writer based between the UK and Ireland. In 2022 she curated Speech Sounds at VISUAL Carlow, and was formerly Assistant Curator of Young People’s Programmes at Tate and Co-Director of Basic Space. She writes for Frieze, Burlington Contemporary and has an art and access column with Visual Arts News Sheet. She is currently developing an Arts Council England funded access toolkit for curators and producers and is an Independent Producer with field:arts. She is currently studying MA Art Praxis at the Dutch Art Institute.
Addressing imbalance
Edinburgh Art Festival is committed to addressing equality, diversity and inclusion across all our work. Our current staff team is predominantly white, cis-gender and non-disabled. For this opportunity, we particularly welcome applications from people who may be underrepresented in the arts in Scotland. This includes but not limited to people from the global majority, people with disabilities or long-term health conditions, people from low socio-economic backgrounds, and people facing intersecting barriers. We will be focusing our marketing efforts to engage with networks and organisations representing these communities and will also encourage applications from rural areas of Scotland.
If you have access requirements for the application process or the project more widely, please let us know and we will accommodate these. Tools available to create access documents include Access Docs for Artists. Access documents will not be reviewed as part of the selection process and only used to support applicants.
Get in touch
We know that there are many barriers for people applying for opportunities, especially in the cultural sector, and we want to make this process as open and supportive as possible. If you would like to talk through the aspects of the opportunity, the application process, require support with submitting your application or would like a paper copy of the form sent to you, please contact us:
Phone number: 0131 226 6558
Email: [email protected]
Please note any proposals received after the deadline of Midnight Sunday 15 January 2023 will not be considered.