Connection Fellowships launched


Note: This call for applications was posted on 28 April 2021. By 1 July 2021 we had selected the Fellows out of 170 incredible applications.


The Creativity Everything lab at Ryerson University has previously offered various free creativity workshops, plus Creativity Conversations, for one-to-one support, and The Black Mosaic, a virtual hub for Black creatives in Toronto. But we wanted to do more, so we are launching the Creativity Everything Connection Fellowships. (‘We’ here means David Gauntlett, director of the Creativity Everything lab, and Mir Asoh, founder of The Black Mosaic).

The main purpose of the Fellowship is to give you more support, and help you work out where to go next, or what to prioritize – or whatever questions or challenges you have. We’re awarding six Fellowships, so the support will come from the Creativity Everything team, and also from the other Fellows – it’s meant to be a little community.

Creators in any field or medium, living in the Greater Toronto Area, can apply. Recognizing the systemic inequities in culture and creative industries, priority will be given to creators who identify as Black people, Indigenous people or People of Colour.

The Fellowship is for you, if you have a creative practice (such as music, art, fashion, games, design, any kind of media-making or other creativity) and you want to take it to the next level – whatever this means for you. It’s fine if you are just starting out, as long as you are committed to it and can show us some of what you’ve started to do. It’s equally fine if you’ve been going for quite a while. It’s about supporting your creative passion.

This is how it works:

→ You’ll be able to exchange ideas and experiences in supportive meetings with the community of Fellows.

→ You’ll have the opportunity to be a guest on the revamped Creativity Everything podcast and talk about your work.

→ You’ll become part of the Creativity Everything community and have our ongoing support.

→ You’ll receive a mini bursary ($1,250) to spend on your creative practice (materials, promotion, whatever).

HOW TO APPLY: Please complete this application form – it’s a straightforward Google Form which asks about your creative practice, how you would benefit from the Fellowship, and invites you to share examples of your work. And if you’re selected, we will be asking about your accessibility needs so that we can support you fully.

The selection committee consists of: Jessalyn George, Justine Woods, and David Gauntlett.

The timeline is:

→ 7 June 2021 is the deadline for applications. Apply before 11.59pm!

→ Between 7 June and 21 June we will be selecting the Fellows.

→ 1 July 2021 is when the Fellowships start, running for four months until end of October 2021.

During the Fellowship, we will have monthly group meetings of the Fellows, plus individual check-ins with Mir and David. Also, we will record an episode of the Creativity Everything podcast talking with each Fellow about their story and their work. At the end, we will have a celebration event and share progress.

Meetings/events will all be virtual (on Zoom) although maybe by October it will be possible to have an in-person final event.

We look forward to hearing from you!


If you have any questions, do email David & Mir at david.gauntlett@ryerson.ca. We can also have a Zoom chat before you submit your application, if you like.


 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *