Banner image by Hans Gerritsen | Irish artist Orlaith Ní Chearra at BRIK Festival 2023
Opportunity for artists passionate about developing performances for young audiences
Baboró seeks two artists to participate in professional development workshops hosted by international European festivals.
If selected, you will:
- Participate in two 5-day masterclasses in 2024 with a cohort of 11 other professional artists from across Europe;
- Experience two European children’s arts festivals with your workshop cohort;
- Receive a daily fee of €200 to cover masterclass and travel days. The cost of all travel, accommodation and festival tickets will be covered.
Closing date for applications is Wednesday, 15 November at midnight.
BABEL - The Art of Listening (2022-2025)
This opportunity is made possible through our partnership on a 4 year Creative Europe project involving 14 partners from 11 different European countries. It pursues the rights of children and youth to full cultural citizenship, and aims to investigate the communication process, intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding in Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) and more extensively the Performing Arts for Young Audiences.
You can read more about Babel and how Baboró is involved, including testimonials from our 2022 Babel artists here.
Selected participants will each travel to two designated international children’s arts festivals to see work, network, and engage in a 5-day masterclass.
In the masterclass, you will explore:
- How to build a sensory-based connection between performers and young audience members in your work;
- The challenges of relationships between artists in an international context. This includes addressing multilingualism and nonverbal collaboration, as well as communicating and understanding personal and subjective artistry.
All workshops will be facilitated in English.
Workshop Schedules
You can only apply for one Workshop Series.
Workshop Series #1
Both workshops will be facilitated by JES (Stuttgart) founder and now-freelance director, Brigitte Dethier. These workshops will have particular focus on movement.
15 - 19 March 2024, Festival Visioni di Futuro (Italy)
International early years festival with a focus on theatre
* Plus travel days on 14 and 20 March 2024
19 - 23 June 2024, Brik Festival (The Netherlands)
International early years theatre festival with a focus on dance
*Plus travel days on 18 and 24 June 2024
***Festival Dates changed from 24 - 28 June***
Workshop Series #2
Both workshops will be facilitated by Alex Byrne, artistic director of New International Encounter (NIE). These workshops will have particular focus on music.
15 - 20 April 2024, Aprilfest (Denmark)
Multidisciplinary festival for children - mostly Danish work
*Plus travel days on 14 and 21 April 2024
Festival dates 22 - 29 September 2024, Festival Lutke (Slovenia)
An international puppet festival for children
*Workshop dates yet to be confirmed, but will most likely be the 23 - 27 September, with travel days on the 22 and 28 September.
**Please note: Schedules may change slightly as each festival is independently responsible for its workshop dates.
Should you be selected, you must be able to attend all days of both workshops and the travel days.
Baboró strives to make sure that all children in Ireland see themselves and their stories reflected in the arts. We endeavour to deliver projects and present performances which reflect the diversity of the Ireland we live in today. We strongly encourage artists from currently underrepresented backgrounds to apply.We welcome applications from individuals who satisfy the following criteria:
- Are artists or creatives with at least two year’s professional experience This includes, but is not limited to, performers, actors, dancers, directors, devisors and choreographers;
- Are passionate about performance for young audiences and can demonstrate clear ambition for making work in the TYA sector;
- Can commit to attending the full programme of either Workshop Series #1 or #2 (see ‘The Workshops’ section for schedules);
- Are based on the island of Ireland;
- Are over 18 years of age and not a full-time student
Desirable Criteria:
- Enjoy working collaboratively with new people;
- Have some experience travelling internationally;
- Are interested in multiculturally work;
- Have professional experience in performing/making performances for young audiences
We’d love to hear from you, please submit:
- A brief CV (3 pages maximum);
- 3 short examples of previous work:
- Can be photos or videos (5 minutes maximum), a script extract (2 pages maximum), written descriptions or testimonials/reviews (1 page maximum), or a website entry.
- Identify which Workshop Series you would like to apply for.
- See ‘Workshops’ section for schedule and details about each series. Remember, you must be available for both festival masterclasses within a series to be eligible.
- A response to the following prompts in either written (500 words maximum), audio or video recording (3-5 minutes maximum) format:
- What about this opportunity excites you as an artist? (approximately 200 words or 1-2 minutes)
- Share with us a moment when you could not use your own language to communicate. How did you communicate instead? What did this reveal to you about yourself? (approximately 200 words or 1-2 minutes)
- How will this opportunity enhance your practice and/or future plans? (approximately 100 words or 1 minute)
Please send your document or recording to rachel@baboro.ie including ‘BABEL 2024’ in the subject line.
Closing date for applications is Wednesday, 15 November at midnight.
Should you need any assistance in creating your application, feel free to contact Rachel at rachel@baboro.ie or call the Baboró office at 091 562 667.
Please note: The Baboró festival runs from 13 - 22 October and the office will be closed from 26 October - 6 November. As such, we will not be able to respond to queries until mid November.
We will respond to all applicants by 11 December, end of day.
If, at any point before the deadline, you would like to withdraw your application, simply send us an email.
Access | Roctain
We want to minimise barriers you may face in applying for, or participating in, this opportunity. We can offer limited access supports and want to work with you to ensure this opportunity is attainable. Access supports can include, but are not limited to, additional funds for child care, a companion or accessibility costs such as taxis. We are happy to chat about any additional support you may require and will try our best to accommodate you. Please contact Rachel at rachel@baboro.ie or call our office at 091 562 667 should you have a particular query.
Cuirimid roinnt tacaíochtaí rochtana ar fáil, ag brath ar acmhainní teoranta, agus ba mhaith linn oibriú leat lena chinntiú go féidir leat tabhairt faoin deis seo. Is féidir cistí breise le haghaidhcúram leanaí nó compánach nó costais inrochtaineachta ar nós tacsaithe a áireamh, ach níl siad teoranta dóibh sin amháin. Beidh muid sásta labhairt leat faoi aon tacaíocht bhreise a d’fhéadfadh a bheith uait agus déanfaimid ár ndícheall freastal ar na riachtanais seo. Déan teagmháil le Rachel ag rachel@baboro.ie nó cuir glaoch ar an oifig ar 091 562 667 má tá ceist ar leith agat.
Information Session
The Information Session is now over. Please find a recording of the session below.
Statement of Care | Ráiteas Cúraim
We recognise that life comes with challenges and needs are different for everyone. We can offer additional support for submitting your application and are happy to discuss any additional supports you might require. Please contact Rachel at rachel@baboro.ie for more support.
Aithnímid go dtagann dúshláin leis an saol agus go mbíonn riachtanais éagsúla ag gach duine. Is féidir linn tacaíocht a thairiscint chun d’iarratas a chur isteach agus táimid sásta aon tacaíochtaí breise a d’fhéadfadh a bheith uait a phlé. Déan teagmháil le Rachel ag rachel@baboro.ie le haghaidh tuilleadh tacaíochta.
Key Dates
- Applications Open Tuesday 19 September 2023
- Information Session Wednesday 20 September 2023 at 2:30pm
- Applications Close Wednesday, 15 November 2023 at midnight
All participants will be notified by Friday 11 December 2023
Baboró is committed to making sure that all children in Ireland will be able to see themselves reflected in the arts. We want to support you to help build this community.
Baboró tiomanta do chinntiú go mbeidh gach leanbh in Éirinn in ann iad féin a fheiceáil léirithe sna healaíona. Ba mhaith linn tacaíocht a thabhairt duit chun cabhrú leis an bpobal seo a thógáil.