Spark

Call for Companies

Closing Date for Expressions of interest: Midnight, Sunday 30th March 2025

Spark is a project where each year three Leitrim businesses of any size and function are provided with the opportunity to work with an artist for 10 days to explore areas of common interest or to explore how creative activity can carry benefit for both the company and the artist.

There are no preconditions on what the artist (who may be from any arts discipline) might do, and it is not obligatory to have produced anything by the end of the project – although a materials budget is available if required – the project is perhaps best described as Action/Research.

Why would I get involved?

Small Sparks can be valuable for companies that wouldn’t normally work with artists to dip their toe in the water and to see what can be gained from doing so. The artist works closely with management and staff, and what comes out of the projects quite often points to different, creative and innovative paths and serves as a catalyst for new thinking.

The Arts Office also organises a longer and more focussed 20-day residency programme, which does have defined outcomes. Upon completion of the of the 10-day project companies that have discovered there's further potential and valuable areas of common interest may seek to pursue this opportunity of a this further 20-day programme, which would be expected to be completed over the following 4-6 months.

Spark responds directly from within a company, developing a platform for creative collaboration appropriate to that context, providing alternatives to the current view, and making connections and linkages where they may not have existed previously. Spark takes from international models of best practice which have shown that there is a real demand not only by companies needing to be creative, but also by artists wanting to interact in broader fields than strictly within their artform. The programme is important for developing ideas about creativity and the exchange carries equal benefit for both the artist and the company.

The initial residency lasts for 10 days, which can be taken in one block or spread over two months as agreed between the artist and company. While off-site and on-line interaction can be part of the programme, conventional on-site contact is key in order for a residency to achieve its full potential.

• What happens after I express an interest in the programme?
  • After the closing date for expression of interest, we advertise the programme and company profile information to professional artists across the country. The Arts Office organises for interested artists to take part in a tour to visit all three companies. Artists are then invited to prepare and submit proposals for what they would propose to do as part of a Spark programme at their chosen company.
  • These proposals are not definitive in-stone projects that the artist would be expected to carry out. Rather, by identifying potential lines of inquiry, interest areas and processes, the proposal provides a vivid insight into the applicant’s methodology as an artist, their understanding of the company, and a demonstration of their capacity for developing innovative projects appropriate to that company. Given that this proposal is only based on a short site visit, while it may serve as a useful starting point, the anticipation is that the residency would differ substantially, if not completely, from this proposal.
  • An independent panel shortlists a maximum of three proposals that are presented to management for final selection.
  • The Arts Office organises a meeting with the company and artist to discuss the project, practicalities of schedules and so on, and if everyone is happy to ahead, the residency effectively starts at that point.
  • The artist’s fee and a materials budget are provided by Leitrim County Council’s Arts Office and Local enterprise Office with the support of The Arts Council.

For many companies, the 10-day residency might be the right length to explore the potential of the programme, but others that discover valuable areas of common interest and further potential can apply to take part in a further project of 20 days over the next four months. Company/Artist partnerships moving onto this phase will have based this next proposal on shared understandings and ambitions for what they want to achieve and see coming from the project – a joint proposal. While the first 10-day project might have been action/research, this next part of the project is more focused and does anticipate having definite outcomes that will benefit both the company and the artist.

So if you manage a business in Leitrim and would like to get involved in Spark, please complete the expression of interest form below before Sunday 5th May or for further information, email arts@leitrimcoco.ie.

What businesses have said about SPARK...