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December 12, 2014Curious Minds and Cornerhouse have been working in partnership to offer teenagers based in Great Manchester the opportunity to develop their creative ideas through the Micro Commissions programme.
Cornerhouse, based in Manchester, is committed to providing local artists with opportunities to expand their practice by testing new, original and innovative ideas. So in 2010 they launched the Micro Commissions scheme which was originally funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and invited artists of all ages from across the North West of England to submit ideas for a £500 commission. Ideas could involve any art form so long as they were creative and innovative at their core.
Over 500 people applied for one of the 60 commissions but very few of these applications were submitted by young people. As developing young people’s talents are key to Cornerhouse’s work, the Micro Commissions application process was re-designed in partnership with Curious Minds for an off-shoot commission scheme that would suit the 14-19 age group. This application process was focussed more towards young people who wanted to create their own film, artwork, digital or theatre project, and an increased amount of project support was to be provided from Cornerhouse staff.
In early 2014, we offered teenagers based in Greater Manchester the opportunity to apply for one of four £500 commissions to fund their film, art, theatre or digital project. The scheme, open to 14-19 year olds and generously supported by Curious Minds, gave young people the chance to manage their own arts project with the support of internal Cornerhouse staff and external industry professionals.
51 keen young people submitted some fantastic applications which made for a very tough selection process. The successful four projects were developed over five months and the resulting work was showcased in September and October 2014. Each young person was mentored by a member of the Engagement Team.
You can read the evaluation report on Micro Commissions here: Micro Commissions Evaluation Report
