Artist Development Programme 2022

IOU are open all year round to any artists, organisations or students who would like support in getting a project off the ground.

STTA: Space | Time | Tools | Advice

STTA is IOU’s artistic development programme for individuals or groups from any discipline. It is designed to help realise projects that are in development by providing whatever assistance is needed, whether that is studio space, technical staff time, workshop tools, advice from arts professionals or a combination of all four.

From providing workbenches to assisting with workshops, IOU are open all year around to any artists or organisations who would like support in getting a project off the ground. In addition to hosting artists we are keen to forge partnerships with UK based agencies, collectives and production companies to support artists they are nurturing.

Currently we have partnerships with MMU; Manchester School of Art, Trans Creative and Calderdale LCEP.

If you have a project or idea and are interested in this opportunity to develop it, use the form below to get in touch.

Contact us about our Artist Development Programme

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Introducing the artists currently working with us in the IOU studio. Each producing their own unique works, they present a diverse range of creative output.

The image shows two people sat infront of an ambulance, pulling silly faces.

Garth Williams

Garth did an STTA with us in 2019 and made an outdoor show around an ambulance that he bought, Garth is re-rehearsing his show to tour again and used the IOU space for 2 days to do some technical modifications on the Ambulance.

A man with dark hair and beard looks at the camera. He is white skinned and has a forest in the background that is blurry.

Wayne Sables

Wayne is a video artist who has contacted David for mentorship and support in developing his career. Wayne is keen to learn routes into other sectors so that he can work across a range of platforms.

Two teenage people sit on the floor wearing blue school jumpers. There is a girl on the left who is brown skinned with dark hair holding a dinosaur. On the right is a boy who is white skinned with blonde hair, he is wearing a facemask and looking at the toy dinosaur.

Art with Heart

Art with Heart are making a new show for primary age children in partnership with Manchester Museum and Z-Arts. The show will introduce children to basic BSL and will use 3D projection mapping and AR to tell its story. Jonathan will be mentoring the production process through Jan 2022
A woman with a headscarf is leaning over a piece of artwork while smiling, she wears a red head scarf and has brown skin. The room she is in has lots of art materials and there is a window at the back.

Donna Michelle Griffith

Following on from the work she did for M3W Donna Michelle will create a series of large scale prints of shapes collected from drone footage gathered across the region.

A woman has her eyes closed and appears to be asleep. She is white and has blond hair that is swished to the side of her head. The image is close up and grainy.

Anna Clarkson

Anna is a playwright and theatre maker. She is working on a recorded play that will be shared through a digital sculpture thats uses light and sound to create a heartbeat. Her project is being developed with clinical research team at Manchester University’s Nursing School around end of life care. IOU are able to provide Anna the space to work with the actors and record the audio in the studio.

There is a boat on a canal, in the background there are hills in view, and sat on the boat are four people, and a sculpture of a yellow boat with gold sails.

Sonya Moorhead

Opal’s Comet is a short story, written by Sonya Moorhead questioning how we might navigate personal grief, loss and transformation as, globally, we veer towards social evolution and climate crisis. The show was rehearsed at IOU before its presentation on the Leeds/Liverpool canal in November 2021. Opals Comet will be exhibited in IOU Walkway Gallery from Dec-Jan.
The image is bright yellow, with a teal colour text over the top. The text says Trans Creative and is shaped in a way the text starts small and then gets bigger.

Trans Creative

Founded by Kate O’Donnell in 2017, Trans Creative produces high quality, accessible, political arts, creating a safe space where trans people tell and hear their own stories and rally for urgent social change in an arena where we’re not debated & legislated against. They deliver a combined arts festival called Trans Vegas, which is created for, and by Trans people annually. The event attracts thousands of people live and digitally, as well as year round live and digital events. 400 people have now joined the Trans Social Club which provides a rare opportunity for Trans artists to create work and share in an encouraging environment to the wider trans community in a safe Trans and allies space, connecting Manchester-based, national and international artists with audiences.

A white man stands in a dark room wearing a woolen jumper and a cap. He appears to be dancing and has his arms out in a wiggly shape.

Gavin Rees

This is a small scale dance project where Gavin explores new methods in dance and AV , Gavin has recently become disabled after a career as a choreographer and is now seeking new ways to make work outside of his own physical boundaries. He would need the studio space for a short period and no other spaces to write, present or build. JM has been doing some coaching sessions with Gavin to support him with a step change in his career and also helping him take his work outside of the dance sector and into the digital arts sector and also the outdoor arts.