Our Residency Programmes are a way to explore new ideas, create work and contribute to our creative community. Residencies are awarded by application only. See below for a list of our current residency opportunities. Jelly is a diverse collective of practising artists at different stages of their creative development covering varied artforms.  We work with many different communities from our central studio space in Reading town centre. 

A residency at Jelly offers artists an experimental and supportive space to develop their creative practice and professional development. Current opportunities are updated and listed below:

The Mills Archive - Reading emPOWERed Residency, School Workshop Development and Delivery

This is a public facing opportunity and a collaborative project with The Mills Archive and Jelly's Education team. Click here to go to The Mills Archive website

The outcome of the residency will result in the development of a workshop, appropriate for ages 7-11 years old, that will be delivered to Reading town centre primary schools.

The Project 

The Mills Archive, based at Watlington House is running an exciting project called Reading emPOWERed. This  project will provide new education programmes on wind and waterpower with local and cultural context, and will offer pathways to understand how the heritage relates to Reading’s past and present. We will be working with 5 primary schools in the local area delivering creative workshops around the project and we would love you to be involved.  

Reading emPOWERed will draw on the Archive’s material which covers the history of wind and water power around the world, including the local area. Wind and water power has fed and clothed us all for thousands of years, and the subject provides opportunities to learn about where our food comes from, how renewable energy has been used over time and how this is now being explored to help address current issues like climate change. 

This residency is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, made possible by National Lottery players

The Residency

Creatively the residency artists will use their practice to interpret/respond and be inspired by aspects of the Archive and wind and water power, the outcomes should have a clear focus on the renewable energy. This will then be used as a basis for the schools workshops to develop from. The artist will develop one workshop, with support from Jelly's education team, it will be aimed at 7-11 year olds. The artist will deliver the workshop at Watlington House where the archive is housed, with support from the education team.

The Archive plans to display some of the artwork produced in an exhibition (physical or digital, to be determined) and would also love to ‘archive’ the creations, turning them into memory records in their own right for future generations to see and enjoy. We are also keen to gather the childrens’ thoughts on their work, what they have learned in the workshop, and how it might have affected how they see Reading and their own power to create and make change happen.

What we offer 

2 x Artist Residencies - to be completed by July 2024

Residency fee per artist - £700

Each resident artist will deliver: 

•  A minimum of  ½ day spent researching at the archive - to be arranged with the Mills Archive.

• Exploring work responding to the collection using their own practice and working with Jelly's education team to develop a 2 hour workshop based around the artists creative explorations. This will be delivered to KS2 year groups (ages 7-11)

• Workshop testing day/Saturday art club location and date TBC  - 2 hours public facing delivery. 

• Delivery of workshop to 2 schools classes (approximately 30 children in each class) - 2 x 2 hours delivery public facing delivery. 

Selection Criteria


Applications are assessed by a panel comprising of the Jelly team and The Mills Archive.

Applicants should demonstrate:

• a commitment to contemporary art practice and engagement with a wider contemporary art context.

• a clear vision for the development of their work.

• a willingness to actively contribute to and a desire to be involved with our artistic programme.

• a desire to contribute to Jelly’s ethos and values 

• a willingness to imaginatively respond to the Reading emPOWERed theme and items in the Mill's Archive during their research and produce work that has a clear focus on renewable energy. 

Eligibility

Jelly welcomes applications from artists working in a range of media and at any stage of their careers. Be willing to undergo a DBS check if required. 

Deadline for applications Friday 26 January.

To apply to our Artist in Residence Programme please complete a written application form or submit an audio or video files via the links below.