Artist Opportunities

Freshly Baked commissioning programme

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We are very excited to offer 4 commissions in partnership with Start Thurrock; a ‘Creative People and Places’ programme funded by Arts Council England. The commissions are for artists/ companies creating/ redeveloping 20 minute family-friendly, visual, accessible circus work that can be flexible to tour outdoors and in community spaces. 

We are particularly interested in hearing from artists who consider themselves to be less represented in circus and outdoor arts e.g. global majority, D/deaf, disabled, neurodiverse, LGBTQIA+ artists, and artists from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Artists can create their work anywhere in England.

Artists/ companies can consider making their work accessible to an audience that resonates with them or that is suitable to the context of the place (Thurrock). If you are successful, we can offer 1 day of a consultant’s time to support with this.

Applications have now closed. We will be in touch with all

applicants to let them know the outcome of their application,

and give more details about the second stage application to

those shortlisted. 

What is on offer?

  • £2500 commission

  • 1 day of support with future programming

  • 1 day of fundraising mentoring 

  • 1 day working with an access/ inclusion consultant; where relevant

  • Professional sharing as part of Start Thurrock’s summer programme 2026

This is a 2-stage application process, designed to be less work for you! 

  • Expression of interest application deadline: 30th March

  • Notification by: 15th April

  • Second stage application deadline: 30th April

  • Notification by: 15th May

  • Development of your work: May- July

Show dates will be midweek between the middle of July and the 18th of August.

Application timeline…

Who Are We?

Lavrak Circus:

We are Lavrak Circus; a female- led circus production company. We are 2 producers; supporting and producing trailblazing circus. Over time, Lavrak has become a platform; a place where we can give a leg up to artists wanting to test ideas, run internships for people wanting to learn, and open the doors for the voices often left out of the circus mainstream. 

In September we asked you what support you needed. You told us you needed paid time to develop new work. With huge thanks to Start Thurrock and Arts Council England, this programme is the result. 

Start Thurrock:

Start Thurrock is a ‘Creative People and Places’ programme funded by Arts Council England. They work in partnership with the people of Thurrock to help them choose, produce and take part in brilliant arts and cultural experiences on their doorstep.

Their programmes are shaped by what their community tell them they want to see. They’re inclusive, inspirational and innovative and they’re all about experimenting with a range of creative approaches.

Start Thurrock run a series of Big Lunches each summer. These fantastic outdoor events are a chance for the Thurrock community to get together for an afternoon of outdoor activities, with a special Start Thurrock twist, with different acts and creative activities at each location. Your show will be programmed at one of the Big Lunches as part of this commission.

What are we looking for?

  • Circus

  • You’ll be performing your work outdoors in Thurrock, so it’s important that your ideas will work in this setting. When you imagine your show, if you are picturing it in a theatre, this commission might not be right for you

  • You will have limited tech available, and will be performing on grass, so think about how the work will be self-sufficient

  • Work is ideally 20 mins in length

  • Family-friendly shows

  • Exciting ideas! 

  • Work that hasn’t already toured, or if it has, work that’s being adapted for outdoor settings

  • Companies/ artists who want to tour their work beyond this commission

  • UK-based individuals & organisations

  • We want your team to be paid fairly. The commission fee we have on offer is £2500. Please consider how you can pay your team fairly for this fee

  • Companies/ artists with a minimum of 3 years of experience creating or performing work. This doesn’t need to be as a collective, for example, if you are a new company, but have been making work as individuals for 3 years or more, that is fine!

  • We expect all successful companies & artists to have Public Liability Insurance, either for each individual such as through Equity, or as a company.

Budget

These commissions are Arts Council funded. This means that you cannot use our fee as match funding for an Arts Council Application. 

The commission available is the maximum amount that we have on offer. You are welcome to source additional funding from elsewhere if needed to cover other costs that you may have. It will not make us more likely to select your project if you have more funding from elsewhere. We want this opportunity to be accessible to people without support in place already. 

Access support 

Expression of interest stage:

For the expression of interest application, we are offering multiple formats to apply in; video, audio, and written. You can download a plain text application form.

Second stage:

For applicants who get shortlisted to the second stage, we can offer up to £300 per application to pay an access support worker, or for other access costs you might incur. You can request access support at the end of the expression of interest application. This will not impact whether you are shortlisted or not. 

Access support for artists who receive a commission:

Costs for support workers and/or access equipment or technology are usually covered through the Access to Work scheme, run by the UK Government. We understand this can be a complex system. 

If you receive a commission, we’ll ask about any access requirements you have, and how we can support you. We aim to be flexible and open within the resources we have.