Co-Director Call Out 2024

It’s Autumn and that means a new Co - Director Call Out! We are now accepting applications to become a Co-Director at Catalyst Arts.

Application deadline: 10th December 5PM

We are encouraging applications from passionate individuals who are interested in joining a collaborative board, who centre peer-learning and experimental approaches within the visual arts. As a Catalyst Co-Director, you will learn a range of skills, and have the opportunity to immerse yourself within the arts ecology of Belfast and beyond. If you would like to gain experience in the operational running of an arts organisation, curation, project management, research and technical skills, we encourage you to apply. 

This is a voluntary position with a two-year commitment following a trial and training period.

Please note, due to time commitments we are asking for applicants to be based in or close to Belfast, or willing to relocate as you will be required to travel for weekly meetings, events and gallery invigilation. 

Catalyst Arts is a registered charity, artist-led space and member’s led organisation. 

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To Apply:

The full job description can be found here.

The job application form can be found below:

PDF Format

Word Format

Please email your completed application form to catalystarts@gmail.com

Invitations to interview will be sent in December/January

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If you would like to apply, but have particular access needs or submitting a written application is difficult for you, please get in touch with Catalyst at catalystarts@gmail.com by email and we can arrange an alternative application method.

Catalyst Arts strives to be an Equal Opportunities employer, and we particularly encourage applications from those who identify as underrepresented in the arts, for example Black and POC artists, artists from lower socio-economic backgrounds and artists from the traveller community.

Member's Show Open Call

Catalyst Arts’ annual Member’s Show is now open for submission!

This year’s open call asks members to respond to the theme/s of moss.The dormant, unrooted, observative, absorptive, spongy plant which climbs up a wall or blankets a forest floor. Like moss, we as artists/practitioners/thinkers absorb our surroundings, growing in unexpected ways, thriving in quiet spaces. How do you engage with the ideas of quiet resilience, sponginess, green life thriving in the shade? How do we, like moss, accumulate bits of our surroundings and sustain our environments?

The exhibition will run from 6th February - 8th March 2025.

The curation, install, and de-install of the show will be handled by Catalyst Arts and our team of co-directors.

Please note this is an unpaid opportunity.

Criteria:

You must be a Catalyst Arts Member to apply (we always welcome new members, to join see our Patreon)

All works must be delivered to Catalyst Arts by the 24th of January 2025 at the latest.

How to Apply:

Please fill out the application form below and email to catalystarts@gmail.com:

PDF format

Word format

Deadline: Friday, 6th December 2024

If you have any questions, please drop us an email at catalystarts@gmail.com, we'd love to hear from you.

*If you have access requirements, please do get in touch and we will accommodate an application process that best works for you

🛠️ TOOLBOX 🛠️

A mini arts fund, personalised to you and your practice.

As we embrace our 30 years, we are celebrating the ways in which we have been able to establish and support a vibrant network of artists and practitioner skill-sharing, resource building and collaboration.

Is there something that would help further your practice and experience as an artist? If so, we want to help. Through the short application form in our bio, outline a resource you would benefit from, its relation to your practice and how Catalyst can support your development. As being an artist looks different for everyone, varying from individual to individual, what you apply to Toolbox for is completely up to you. To help with your application, here are some examples of things you could use Toolbox for:

🛠️ Space to document your work
🛠️ Equipment rental
🛠️ Mentoring (any discipline)
🛠️ Workshops
🛠️ Training
🛠️ Short term memberships/residencies
🛠️ A critical session

We’re a small team working with a restricted budget, and whilst we would love to offer larger and more long term assistance, the aim of this project is to support the needs of our community where we can.

This is an opportunity for artists of all disciplines based in the North of Ireland.

Applications close midnight on the Friday 1st of March, successful applicants will be contacted the following week. If you have any questions or access needs regarding your application, please send us an email at catalystarts@gmail.com

Director Call Out 2023

As this we begin to dive into autumnal months, we are now open for applications to become a Co-Director at Catalyst Arts. It’s our 30th Birthday, come to our party.

Application deadline: 3rd November, Midday.  

We are encouraging applications from passionate individuals who are interested in joining a collaborative board, who centre peer-learning and experimental approaches within the visual arts. As a Catalyst Co-Director, you will learn a range of skills, and have the opportunity to immerse yourself within the arts ecology of Belfast and beyond. If you would like to gain experience in the operational running of an arts organisation, curation, project management, research and technical skills, we encourage you to apply. 

This is a voluntary position with a two-year commitment following a trial and training period.

Please note, due to time commitments we are asking for applicants to be based in or close to Belfast, or willing to relocate as you will be required to travel for weekly meetings, events and gallery invigilation. 

Catalyst Arts is a registered charity, artist-led space and member’s led organisation. 

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To Apply:

The full job description can be found here.

The job application form can be found below:

PDF Format

Word Format

Please email your completed application form to catalystarts@gmail.com.

Invitations to interview will be sent in November/ Decemeber. 

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If you would like to apply, but have particular access needs or submitting a written application is difficult for you, please get in touch with Catalyst at catalystarts@gmail.com by email and we can arrange an alternative application method.

Catalyst Arts strives to be an Equal Opportunities employer, and we particularly encourage applications from those who identify as underrepresented in the arts, for example Black and POC artists, artists from lower socio-economic backgrounds and artists from the traveller community.

FIX 23 Open Call

FIX 23 Open Call

Deadline: September 15th 2023

FIX is an internationally renowned biennial of live art and was established by Catalyst Arts in 1994. For almost 30 years, FIX has consistently delivered an innovative programme of local and international live, sonic and performance artists to the city of Belfast and is one of Europe’s longest running live art festivals. 

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FIX is returning to the sites and streets of Belfast this November! This year the festival’s theme is Transition and we are inviting artists to engage with this theme on an Open Call basis. We are very excited for the festival to return to Belfast and to enjoy the embodiment of this theme through live work.

Submission Guidelines

We are inviting expressions of interest from artists, writers* and performers alike, inclusive of individuals, duos or groups, who want to present work at this year’s festival in Belfast and be part of the exciting line-up of public events throughout the city. Applications will be reviewed and assessed on the proposal’s relevance to the festival theme and selected on the basis of common threads that the Catalyst team will identify within the body of submissions.

Artists must be available to present their work between Tuesday 14th of November 2023 until Saturday 18th of November 2023  during the festival period.

All applicants must be a member of Catalyst Arts - you can opt in and out at any time to be a member through our Patreon - membership supports the organisation to deliver the annual programme effectively, supporting the creative community of Belfast and beyond.

Each applicant if selected will receive an Artist’s Fee of £200 for their performance.

Please download and fill out this submission form, and email to catalystarts@gmail.com in a Word Doc or a PDF format.

If you have access requirements, please get in touch with us at catalystarts@gmail.com, and we will accommodate an application process that best works for you. 

Submission Deadline:  Friday 15th September at 5pm

Submissions received after this date will not be accepted.

* Writers applying for this open call will be expected to perform live as part of FIX 23. Under the umbrella of live art this could apply to poets, spoken word artists, etc.

Members Show Open Call

to lean, fold, buckle, hold, carry, push, pull, support

We are excited to announce that the open call for our 2023 Members Show is now open!

As a space and organisation, we exist in a symbiotic relationship of support with our members. Our members are an essential part of the survival, development, and structural integrity of Catalyst Arts. In return, we look to support our members' practices through opportunity and conversation.

As we begin to settle and find our feet in our new premises at Joy's Entry we want to invite our members to inhabit the space with their work and practice. We welcome submissions from all practices and mediums. We see this not only as an opportunity to showcase our members' work, but also as an opportunity to further engage with our members and their practices

The exhibition will run from 17th August - 15th September 2023.

The curation, install, and de-install of the show will be handled by Catalyst Arts and our team of co-directors.

Please note this is an unpaid opportunitv.

Criteria:

• You must be a Catalyst Arts Member to apply (we always welcome new members, to join see link in our bio)

• One piece of existing work no larger than 40 x 40 cm (all mediums accepted)

• All works must be delivered to Catalyst Arts by Friday 4th August

How to Apply:

Please fill out the submission form available via this link and email to catalystarts@gmail.com.*

Deadline: Friday 4th August, 5pm

If you have any questions, please drop us an email at catalystarts@gmail.com, we'd love to hear from you.

*If vou have access requirements, please do get in touch and we will accommodate an application process that best works for you

📚 Catalyst Book Fair 📚

📚 Catalyst Book Fair Call Out 📚

As part of our fundraising efforts to support our programming for 2023-24 we will be hosting Catalyst Book Fair from the 6th - 8th of July.

Catalyst Book Fair will be a space to share, celebrate, and support self-published material by both local and national artists, curators, writers, poets, and photographers alike.

How to Submit ✉️

Submissions cost £5 for up to 5 items.

You can submit books/publications/zines/prints. Items must be valued at £30 or less. We ask that prints be no larger than A4 and publications no larger than A3.

Catalyst will process all sales during the book fair and invoice artists at the end of the fair. We will not be taking a commission on sales - instead there is a £5 submission fee per 5 items.

Please fill out the submission form available here and email to catalystarts@gmail.com by the 16th of June (midnight).

💙 Free submission for Catalyst Arts Members (up to 5 copies total). 💙


Please note that we will need to receive physical books/prints by June 26th.

p(a/u)ddle

p(a/u)ddle

* paddle - an act of paddling (a boat) 🛶
* puddle - a small pool (of liquid, especially of rainwater) on the ground 🌧

Catalyst Arts are fundraising for our upcoming programming over 2023-24. As a volunteer-led artist run space we are asking for the support of local artists and friends of the gallery for donations of work. 🛠

The work will be hung in Catalyst with a showcase from 20th - 23rd June with the auction evening on Saturday 24th June @ 7pm. All proceeds of this auction will go towards supporting Catalyst Arts and the arts community of Belfast, Ireland and Internationally 🌟

p(a/u)ddle with us, together and each other. If you have any questions about this open call, please don't hesitate to contact us catalystarts@gmail.com or via social media. 🏓

Link to submission form here!

This is an unpaid opportunity.

Casual Placements

Casual Placements is a Catalyst Arts members’ newsletter - a space for members to showcase their works/ideas/thoughts. This call out is open to all Catalyst Arts members to send us whatever you want - criticisms, drawings, writings, workings, wordings, sellings, listings, orderings, buyings, nothings, somethings, soon-to-be-things, anythings.

We will be accepting submissions on a rolling deadline for all members. You can submit by emailing us at catalystart@gmail.com.

You can view the digital version of our April edition below featuring work from Sona Smedkova, Reuben Brown and Shane Malone Murphy.

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Catalyst Arts Members Show Open Call 2022

Catalyst Arts Members Show 2022

This will be Catalyst’s first Members’ Show in our new building, and keeping our smaller space in mind, we’re doing things a little bit differently. We’re inviting proposals from artist members working in moving image and audio-visual practices to apply to show your work in Catalyst from November - December 2022. For this project, we will select three artists to develop an exhibition alongside one another. 

The three artists whose work is selected will each receive a fee of £200, as well as tech, marketing and curatorial support from the Catalyst board.

To apply, first make sure you are a member of Catalyst Arts, you can sign up via our Patreon, and fill out the Google Form - also in our bio.

If you have any questions, please drop an email to catalystarts@gmail.com. 

*If you have access requirements, please do get in touch and we will accommodate an application process that works for you. 

We kindly ask that each artist keep their submission to one piece of work. Due to the high level of submissions each year we cannot facilitate a series or body of work.

Apply here

Please note: All work submitted will be curated and installed by Catalyst Directors. The Directors will actively work with the participating artists to ensure their work is installed in a way that represents the artists, their ethos and their vision. Each artwork will be handled and installed with the utmost respect and consideration for all participating artists and the space.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact us at catalystarts@gmail.com.

We have a range of AV equipment we can provide for the installation of the successful work which includes;

• Projectors x 4

• CRT TV’s x 6

• Flat screen TV

• Speakers

• Sound Mixers

• DVD Players

• Audio Splitters

• Media Players

• HDMI Leads

• Kettle Leads

• Microphones

• Headphones

• Slide Projector

• Amplifiers

• Microphone Stands

• CD Player

• Speaker Stands

• Strobe Light

  Open Call now live! The deadline for submissions is 7th October at 12.00pm.

Made Public: OFFSITE*

We are excited to announce that, as part of our current project, Made Public, we will be hosting our popular discussion group for members, OFFSITE. This will also mark the first time the discussion group will be held both in-person and online, with two sessions taking place to ensure all members can participate. The session on Tuesday 31 May will take place on Zoom, and the session on 4 June will take place in the gallery.

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What is OFFSITE: approximately two hour session.

What do you do: a) present a work-in-progress/ idea for discussion, or b) just be present and willing to talk, share thoughts and explore

This call for participation is open to any creative practitioners including curators, visual artists, writers, and educators.

To sign up, see the links below:

Tuesday 31 May (online) - Sign up here.

Saturday 4 June (in person) - Sign up here.

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The lack of communal settings over the past few years gave us the idea to create a temporary space to allow for conversation and community to develop with our Members: OFFSITE. Catalyst Arts is providing an opportunity for Members to be a part of two group sessions with like-minded art practitioners to explore your practice or a recent topic of research you are working on.

Through the creation of a shared platform, or a temporary members collective, we wish to provide space for artists to work through processes and think about ideas. Instead of adhering to the pressure to show only outcome based or ‘finished’ projects with peers, can we see process as practice?

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*Please note - This is a Catalyst Arts Members opportunity, you can become a member through our Patreon page. Being a member is a great way to support Catalyst Arts and have access to exclusive member opportunities throughout the year.

Creating a safe space for conversations to happen is important to us, and therefore the sessions will not be recorded. 

Catalyst Arts and Belfast Photo Festival | CLOSED

Future(s) 2021

Catalyst Arts has been invited to take part in the Belfast Photo Festival 2021 with the support of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. We will be commissioning three artists that employ photography in any shape or form in their practice to produce new work for an exhibition in the Catalyst gallery. We will also be commissioning three writers to develop literary responses to the artworks for an exhibition catalogue. 

The theme of Catalyst’s open call is Future(s) and we aim to cover a broad range of approaches to the notion of futurity or speculative futures, including but not limited to: anthropocene and climate futures; feminist and queer futures; black futurity; post-pandemic futures; the effect of technological advancement on humanity, and a focus on AI's impact on the photographic medium itself.

The thematic is underpinned by the urgency of rethinking our future(s) given the tumultuous time in which we are living in, deepening and illuminating the stark inequalities in society at large. The festival is intended to be a provocative and imaginative space for audiences to connect with work that addresses these concerns and asks questions about what kind of future we want to collectively create.

This is a Catalyst Arts members opportunity, you can become a member through our Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/catalystarts. Being a member is a great way to support Catalyst Arts and have access to exclusive member opportunities throughout the year.

Catalyst Arts is inviting applications from artists, new and ongoing, to submit a proposal that outlines the project/work they would like to produce for the exhibition in the Catalyst gallery, and how it applies to, or interprets Future(s).

Artists will receive a fee of £300, plus costs amounting to £150 for necessary materials, as well as assistance in: curatorial support, feedback, installation and publicity from Catalyst and the Photo Festival team.

Applications for artists can be made here.

Catalyst Arts is inviting applications from writers to submit an expression of interest on the theme Future(s) and their interest in developing a response to new artwork that engages with photography. 

Writers will receive a fee of £200, feedback, support, as well as collaborate with the Catalyst team for the final publication, and will be featured on all publicity for the show.

Applications for writers can be made here.

Deadline has been extended to midnight Sunday 21 March 2021 (GMT).