Wigan artist urges borough creatives to apply for regional talent scheme

Run by the Castlefield Gallery in Manchester, the development programme is for artists aged 50 or older in Greater Manchester.

As part of the current scheme Jane has taken part in an unusual interactive exhibition on Instagram which involved the artists creating challenges for each other and then drawing them out.

She is also creating work for a show at the city arts venue in which the bOlder participants are paired up with young recent graduates from university art courses.

Jane, who is also a member of Cross Street Arts in Standish, says it can be tricky to find high-profile schemes which are specifically aimed at older artists and spoke of the positive impact the current bOlder programme has had on her work.

She said: “It has been very exciting. I’ve really hard to work hard and think a lot which is a good thing for an artist.

“It has been really good to get to know the other artists from around Greater Manchester who are a similar age. We’ve had regular Zoom meetings and have really gelled together.

“The bOlder scheme is unique. There’s an awful lot for younger artists and older artists might not engage in the same way with what is currently more popular, but that doesn’t make their art any less relevant.

“As you get older you become invisible and people don’t notice what you are doing.

“On the bOlder programme you get lots of talks with artists, information about how to write good statements and how to use Instagram and engage with social media.

“The idea is to encourage people. I could have become quite complacent, especially with Covid because I’m not seeing my artist group at Cross Street.

“It really revs you up a gear and tells you there’s still life left in you as an artist over 50.”

One of Jane’s pieces created for an all-online show as part of this year’s scheme involved her taking a painting of a textile artwork and creating a new fabric-based piece while also obeying instructions she was given to work from the inside’ and also make it a game’.

The bOlder programme is commissioned by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and funded by the European Social Fund Community Grants Scheme.

Artists involved in drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, installation, artist’s film, moving image, sound, live art, public art, socially engaged practices, design and craft, as well as other media, are all eligible to take part in the programme.

The 2020-21 programme is open to contemporary visual artists aged over 50 from Wigan or any of the other nine boroughs in Greater Manchester.

For the next scheme participants will have to be economically inactive, meaning they are not in paid work or actively looking for it.

Those chosen will receive support towards their costs of up to £250, one-to-one sessions with Castlefield Gallery director Helen Wewiora and curator Matthew Pendergast, sessions with a qualified artist coach and professional development workshops.

The deadline is September 28. To find out more or apply visit www.castlefieldgallery.co.uk/news/applications-open-for-bolder-2020-21/