The Glasshouse

Everyone is welcome to apply, but we recognise that some communities have not been represented in our previous work. We want to make sure this opportunity is available to everyone, no matter what your background or the challenges you have faced. For example, we would love to hear from you if you:

• Are d/Deaf, have a disability, learning difficulty or significant long-term health condition which affects your daily life
• Describe yourself as neurodivergent (this might include dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, ADHD, autistic spectrum, Tourette’s syndrome and others)
• Consider yourself to be from a working class background
• Received free school meals in secondary school
• Grew up in a family receiving Universal Credit or state benefits
• Have ever lived in council or social housing, been on the housing register
• Have ever lived in sheltered accommodation or experienced homelessness
• Attended a state-run school and were the first generation in your family to attend university
• Experienced being in care at any point
• Were a young parent or young carer
• Have been a refugee or asylum seeker
• Are from the African, South, East and South-East Asian, Middle East, Latinx or North African diaspora, or have experienced racism

These are some common examples of challenging circumstances but there may be others.

To apply you must be aged 18 and over and be based in the UK.

Create an account with The Glasshouse which will include your name, address and contact number. Keep your log-in details safe as you will need your email and password to submit your application. You are then all set up and ready to apply!

We’ll ask you to write about you as an artist, provide links to your
music and what you would like to work on during Summer Studios. You can answer the questions by video or audio recording with details on how to do this on the application form. There is also a word document of the form that you can use for your reference.

Applications will be assessed by a group of experts including staff from The Glasshouse, a music professional from the North East, and an artist who previously took part in Summer Studios.

This is always a competitive process and that can’t be avoided. We will be selecting based on the information you have sent us. We will be looking for artists who create original music, demonstrate potential, have some experience of being an independent artist, have a clear idea of what they want to achieve during the residency, and who will benefit from this opportunity.

You’ll be notified of whether your application was successful by the beginning of May. If you are unsuccessful you will be able to request either a short piece of written feedback OR a 10 minute feedback session phone call with one of our team.

If you are successful we will set up a short chat with one of our team to discuss your needs during the residency and answer any questions you may have.

We don’t pay artist fees for taking part in Summer Studios, but if you are unable to do the residency for financial reasons, we do offer some Bursaries. This is to help with costs such as meals, childcare, transport and project materials. Access costs will be covered separately (see next question!)

For those who are from outside of Newcastle/Gateshead we can pay for travel and accommodation.

Additional money is available for access costs to help improve the experience, which might include transport costs for d/Deaf and disabled artists, a personal assistant or care worker, BSL interpretation, information in large print or another language etc.

If you would like to speak to someone about access requirements before applying, please contact Matthew at artistdevelopment@theglasshouseicm.org or call 0191 443 4569 or 0191 443
4649 (Monday to Thursday 9am to 5pm)

You’ll receive a warm welcome from all the team when you arrive, and we’ll look after you during your time here to make sure you have all the support you need with creative and practical things.

The concourse has a great view across Newcastle and the River Tyne. Our concourse café won’t be open as usual this Summer but you’re welcome to bring your own food and drink to eat in your rehearsal room or the communal gathering space. Plenty of car and bicycle parking is available, there are bus and metro routes nearby, and the accommodation is in student halls located near to the venue.

You should bring together the musicians you need before you start the residency. During the residency you may find some musicians that you want to collaborate with amongst the other artists taking part, but those musicians also need to work on their own projects while they are here so this can’t be guaranteed.

All artists/bands have access to ongoing support with their project and their career for around 12 months after the residency if they would like it. This will usually take the form of 3-4 meetings or video calls with someone from The Glasshouse offering advice, as well as information by email on other opportunities via our Artist Opportunities newsletter.