THE Absolutely Anywhere Residency

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Holy Show is looking for an experienced creative writer or artist to choose a location in which to 'reside' for anywhere between 1 day to 1 week. The more unusual the location the better. Some examples of the kinds of locations that might excite us include:

• a ditch at the crossroads
• your best friend's childhood bedroom
• a fishing boat
• a squat
• a film set, rehearsals on a major production, etc
• a green room
• a Ballroom of Romance
• Berghain
• the Bog of Allen
• a weekend congregation of people with very niche interests
• your local chipper

The location must be in a safe place (for you to judge) where its fairly legal for you to be. It can be abroad if you're there already, but ideally on the island of Ireland.

The residency should result in a work of creative non-fiction (which can be made up of essay, overheard speech, interviews, diary entries, musings, travelogue, or a mixture of any of these and more). No fiction or poetry please, and no academic writing. Some interaction with other humans while 'on residence' would probably be a good thing. To get a feel for Holy Show, check out a sample of what we've published previously here. Or buy an issue here.

We're anticipating the person doing the writing will take the lead on the project, and will identify another professional artist to produce visuals to accompany the text (painting, film stills, photography, illustration, cartoon). We can help you find the right person if you can't think of anyone, but ideally you'll have suggestions or ideas. The artist's work can be created especially for this residency or involve images or a body of work they've already created. This artist need not be 'resident', but the visuals should speak/relate to the text. At least one of the writer/artist team should be Irish or based in Ireland. 

WHEN WILL THE RESIDENCY HAPPEN?

Ideally, your residency will take place any time between January 2025 and 31 March 2025, with completed clean text and images submitted by 30 April 2024. 

WRITER/ARTISTS FEE

We'll pay a total fee of €1,000 to the successful writers/artists pairing/team. This should cover any of your costs (so best to keep it local enough for your own sake). However, if needed, we can pay a third of the fee up front to cover any travel/accommodation/production costs. How the above fee is shared between collaborating artists is up to you to gauge.

The selected commission will be published in Holy Show issue 07, printing in mid-June 2025. Your ideas for a local launch of the magazine would also be welcome, for which we'd offer you an additional launch performance fee.

SUBMIT YOUR IDEA(s)

It's easy to submit, and only requires an idea outline of 200 words max, plus a bit about yourself and your collaborator(s). Please fill out this very short Google Form to submit: 

https://forms.gle/PsBM7ezgj5MwrfrM6

This opportunity is kindly supported by Arts Council Literature.