Are you a South Asian musician, artist, singer-songwriter, or record producer or looking to build a career in the music industry? Do you want to develop your music skills, receive specialist training, and be awarded a bursary to fund your professional development?
You could be a part of our Breaking Barriers Programme, Emerge.
The final strand of the Asian Arts Agency Breaking Barriers programme will provide individuals with new opportunities and a platform to support emerging musical talent.
Following the first two strands of the commissioning programme, we are delighted to announce the third strand of Breaking Barriers, the Emerge programme for developing musicians.
What is Breaking Barriers?
Breaking Barriers is a pioneering project conceived and developed by Asian Arts Agency and funded by Arts Council England to create opportunities for South Asian musicians/individuals to try out new approaches to performance. The project aims to increase skills and confidence in using online platforms and finding new ways to approach the live music/recording industry.
What we’re offering?
We are offering 10 bursaries of £1,000 each to entry level musicians, artists, record producers and to those who are thinking of starting music companies but have limited information about how the industry works. The agency has established relationships with WOMAD, BPI and Real-World Studios.
The programme will include:
A £1,000 bursary award for each participant.
Music industry-related training sessions.
Bespoke digital and social media training.
Talks and webinars with music industry programmers and festival organisers.
A tour and demonstration of an industry level music studio providing insight into the workings of a professional recording studio.
Timeline and Bursary
The programme will run between March – April 2023. Each participant will receive a £1,000 bursary plus additional access support where needed (if applicable). In addition, the Agency will cover studio hire/use costs.
Who is this Programme for?
The project is open to England based South Asian Musicians of all types, traditional and contemporary. We want to maintain a strong focus on gender balance; and to strive to reach and encourage disabled artists and artists from disadvantaged backgrounds including deaf artists. In selecting the group of successful applicants we will therefore ensure that there is balance and a fair representation of key factors, in particular:
Diversity (including race, gender, and other protected characteristics).
Geography to ensure the targeted areas are represented esp. Southwest.
Different aspects of the music industry (e.g., musicians, singer-songwriters, record producers, etc.).
Applications are open to all entry level individuals/artists who identify as ethnically diverse; Deaf; disabled; neurodiverse; LGBTQ+; and/or who are from working-class/low-income backgrounds, or who have identified as such in the past. We are seeking applications from individuals regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality, religion and/or belief.
How to Apply:
England based applicants only.
Each applicant must complete an online application form.
Download application pack here
Closing date for application: Thursday 2nd March 2023, 9.30am.
If you feel you have any barriers in applying, require additional support to apply or/and have any questions relating to the project, please email us at music (at) asianartsagency.co.uk
Notification of decisions:
All applications will be notified whether they have been successful or not by email by Tuesday 7th March 2023.
We are sorry that we cannot offer individual feedback.
