SoundLab Residency Program

Arup Soundlab

This grant supports NSW artists, practitioners, and arts and cultural workers to undertake professional development programs or significant opportunities to support their personal, creative and career advancement.

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Key information

  • Status: Closed
  • Grant amount: $3,750 and 4 week residency at the SoundLab (10hrs per week)
  • Application opened: 21 June 2022
  • Application closed: 25 July 2022, 5:00 pm

Program objective

Create NSW is partnering with premiere engineering firm Arup to offer artists a state-of-the-art professional development opportunity in the Arup SoundLab facility. 

4 residencies will take place from October 2022 to February 2023. Residencies are for a 4-week period, providing successful applicants access to the SoundLab for at least 10 hours per week.

The residency is an opportunity for artists to experiment, design and create in a space designed for critical listening, exploration and understanding sound, with an Ambisonic loudspeaker array, and an option for integrating VR technology.

The SoundLab Residency Program aims to:

  • provide NSW artists with space and time for professional development in a unique environment
  • support the development and experimentation of work by NSW artists working with sound
  • increase employment opportunities for artists in NSW.

Image: Arup Soundlab Photo Victor Caringal

About the SoundLab

SoundLab is a listening room’ designed by Arup’s multidisciplinary team. It carefully considers room geometry providing a uniform frequency response across the space. A low-profile, laser-cut meshed raised floor system enables installation of studio monitors directly below SoundLab’s seating area – immersing the audience in 360 degree sound (16.2 channel surround sound).

The SoundLab equipment available for use to resident artists consists of:

  • Ambisonic Loudspeaker Array consisting of 16 x Genelec 8030A and 2 x Genelec 7060B
  • Tesira BiAmp w/ Dante – used as output audio interface to the loudspeaker array; no line/mic inputs available
  • Extron DTP Crosspoint 4K Series
  • 52” Flat Panel Display (HDMI input)
  • HTC Vive VR System
  • Barco Clickshare
  • mySmart Lighting Control System

The facilities include provisions to enable artists to connect their personal laptop via network port to the audio interface used to output to the loudspeaker array.

A SoundLab infrastructure briefing guide will be set in place for the artist’s information however, the artist is expected to be self-sufficient.

If an artist requires more technical provisions than the SoundLab includes, the artist will provide it themselves. This may include (but not be limited to) a mixing desk, input sound card, musical instruments, MIDI controllers, etc.

Learn more about Arup Soundlab

This program is funded and administered by Create NSW.

Eligibility

Who can apply

To be eligible for the SoundLab Residency Program you need to meet the following criteria:

  • be an Australian citizen or permanent resident who has been residing in NSW over the last 12 months
  • a professional artist or an arts/cultural worker (including museum workers) with a commitment to arts and cultural work as a major aspect of their working life (even if this work is not the main source of their income)
  • have a degree of training, experience or manner of working that allows their work to be assessed against the highest practiced standards in their relevant artform or discipline.

Applications are encouraged from interdisciplinary artists working with sound. Applicants can be at any stage in their career. This opportunity is not artform specific. However, a history of practice in music, sound or vocal performance is important.

If applying as an Individual:

  • you can apply without an ABN, if successful you will be required to either; obtain an Individual/Sole Trader ABN OR engage a Funds Administrator.

If applying as a Group, you can provide one of the following:

  • a members’ Individual/Sole Trader ABN
  • a Partnership ABN
  • an Unincorporated Entity ABN.

All other ABN’s are ineligible, including Company/Incorporated Association ABN’s.

If successful, applicants will need to provide up-to-date Personal Liability Insurance (PLI) to Arup prior to commencing residency.

Who can’t apply

You are ineligible to apply if:

  • you are a commercial enterprise
  • your ABN entity is not as listed above.

Most recent recipients

All recipients (4)

What your application needs to include

Applications will be assessed against the following criteria:

  1. Merit.
  2. Impact.
  3. Viability.
1

Project Merit

Your application should demonstrate:

  • the artistic overview of what you will develop in your residency
  • how the SoundLab residency will contribute to our artform development
  • the quality and reputation of your previous work.
2

Project Impact

Your application should demonstrate:

  • how the SoundLab residency will impact your practice
  • how you may engage artists and/or audiences to share your works.
3

Project Viability

Your application should demonstrate:

  • effective planning and understanding of the unique SoundLab environment
  • proficiency in sound software (Pro tools, Logic Pro, Max/MSP etc).

Start the application

Applications for this grant are now closed.

 

After the application is submitted

Successful applications will be decided by: Minister for the Arts

Applications will be assessed by a panel of Create NSW staff and members of Create NSW Contemporary Music Artform Board.

Further advice and clarification may be requested from applicants by Create NSW during the assessment process.

The panel will make final recommendations with reference to the assessment criteria, artform, demographics and the distribution, range and scale of recommended applicants.

This may include prioritising applicants living or working in regional NSW, people living or working in Western Sydney, Aboriginal people, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, people with disability and young people.

Prioritisation of recommended applicants ensures equity across the state and the best outcomes for NSW Government investment.

Support and contact

Create NSW staff are available to provide information to applicants on the interpretation of these Guidelines, including the types of eligible projects for funding and advice on the application process.

Create NSW staff are here to help you and can be contacted between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays).

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