RESPONSE POT

APPLICATIONS FOR ROUND 7 ARE NOW CLOSED


What is the Gather Up Response Pot?

The Response Pot is a micro-bursary of £750 available to Bristol-based artists working with contemporary dance practices.

The Response Pot exists to fund an artists’ time rather than project costs. This micro-bursary could support:

- the beginnings of a new project

- first explorations of a new choreographic idea

- research time

- development or upskilling time

- testing a new collaboration or way of working

- making new connections 

You could use this micro-bursary as match funding towards larger project fundraising.

What is the eligibility criteria?

  • You are working professionally with contemporary dance practices.

  • You live in Bristol.

  • You are 18 or over.

  • You have not received a Response Pot micro-bursary previously.

  • You can clearly demonstrate that you would benefit from some dedicated time for your practice.

  • You are an independent artist and the activity that you are proposing to do has not yet been offered funding support from elsewhere. 

  • You have considered fair pay.

  • You have submitted your application by the deadline.

  • You have answered the questions adequately, giving us a sense fo your dance practice and of this particuliar project / aspect of your practice you are seeking support for.

  • You have respected the word count or video length limit. Applications over the word count limit will be deemed ineligible.

  • You can re-submit an application from a previous Response Pot round, it does not have to be a new project or idea each time.

  • Only one application per project: two different artists cannot apply for the same project/research idea.

Please make sure that you can answer YES to all of the above before submitting your application.

How to apply?

You will be able to apply by completing this form.

You can also submit via a short film answering the questions in the form (6mins max).

Please send to our email by the deadline: info.gatherup@gmail.com

Please note that applications over the word count will be deemed ineligible. Our capacity is limited and it is important to us that applicants fulfill the word count criteria.

* If you require plain text, easy read, audio recording or other versions please get in touch and we can send these to you.

ANY QUESTIONS?

Please allow a minimum of 10 working days before the submission deadline if you have any questions about your application. We may not be able to be of support after that.


SELECTION PROCESS:

Your application must meet all the eligibility criteria to move into the selection process. 

We are committed to valuing artists' time. In line with this, we expect you to pay yourself and any collaborators that you work with fairly. Please refer to Equity, Artist Union or Independent Theatre Council Rates of Pay guidelines as you consider this. Applications where the artist chooses not to pay themselves or others fairly will be deemed ineligible.

If your application meets all of the criteria, your name will be placed into the selection hat. 

In this round we will randomly select two names out of the hat.

What are the conditions once money has been given to the selected artists? 

- The work mentioned in your application must begin within 6 months of the Response Pot payment. If due to unforeseen circumstances this is not possible, we are open to negotiating an extension, so please get in touch if your start time needs to change. 

- We will ask  you to provide some simple feedback ie. written reflection, audio recordings, images or a short video on how you have used the Response Pot micro-bursary for our own evaluation and for reporting to our project partners. We might ask to share some of your material via our online comms. 

- We understand that plans sometimes change. We ask that you keep us updated with any significant change to your proposed use of the £750 micro-bursary. 

- We cannot provide any administrative support, studio/desk space or any support outside of what is currently offered through the Care Pot and the Library of People.

If you have any questions before applying, please get in touch at: info.gatherup@gmail.com


RESPONSE POT RECIPIENTS:

Three composite images: to the left, dancer Holly Thomas gestures as if describing a moment of choreography; in the centre, a black and white image of a hand against a whirlpool; to the right, a body with arms outstretched into the wind

RESPONSE POT ROUND 1

January 2022 - Holly Thomas / Áine Ashby / Jo Hellier

Image credits: Christoper Lewis-Smith / Imogen Mansfield / Jo Hellier

A composite of 3 images

RESPONSE POT ROUND 2

June 2022 - Laura Moy / Nat Wittingham / Jan-Ming Lee

Image credit for Nat’s photo: Sara Pozzerle

A composite of 3 images: a dancer on the floor leaning into her arm peering from behind a block; a woman sat on another's lap on a chair in a room covered in newspaper; a dancer with his head upside down leaning into one arm, the other extended up

Response Pot Round 3

October 2022 - Elinor Lewis / Charlotte Ackary-Hawthorn / Joe Garbett

Image credits: Beliza Buzzolo / Georgina Ackary-Hawthorn / Tom Elkins

RESPONSE POT ROUND 4

Spring 2023 - Chen Yin / Alice Human / Kamina Walton

Image credits: Pan Qi / Bex Luggar / Kamina Walton

RESPONSE POT ROUND 5

Autumn 2023: Jay Levontine / Lior Hutchings

Image credits: Ben Mali / Itzik Canetti

RESPONSE POT ROUND 6

Spring 2024 - Rhiannon Colvin / Gemma Prangle

Image credits: Rhiannon Colvin / Zosia Jo

RESPONSE POT ROUND 7

Autumn 2024 - Karla Shacklock / Tara Silverthorn

Image credits: Ruby Turner /

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