Dr. Martens [@drmartens] and The ICA [@ICALondon] announce new partnership to support emerging artists

The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) & Dr. Martens, united by a shared commitment to emerging artists, are joining forces to award £60,000 in production grants for new commissions in artists’ moving image and film.

A total of seven grants will be awarded for the production of new works as part of Image Behaviour 2021, the ICA’s annual convening dedicated to experiments in artists’ moving image. With the support of Dr. Martens, the ICA is providing one production grant of £30,000 and six grants of £5,000, supplemented with production support and mentoring.

UK-based artists can apply through an open call (17 February to 30 March). Artists awarded these grants will then present their new works as part of Image Behaviour 2021 later this year, as well as through Dr. Martens’ digital platforms and on Cinema 3, the ICA’s new online platform.

The global pandemic has wreaked havoc across the cultural sector – closing organisations and venues, and drastically reducing opportunities for artists. The ICA & Dr. Martens have teamed up to counteract this challenging environment by presenting artists living and working in the UK with this meaningful support at a time when it is needed most.

The seven production grants – six grants of £5,000 and one major production grant of £30,000 – will support the production of new works to be premiered at Image Behaviour 2021. The ICA’s annual convening dedicated to experiments in artists’ moving image, Image Behaviour is central to the ICA’s decades-long commitment to the development of artist film, from Derek Jarman, Steve McQueen and Matthew Barney to more recent works by the likes of James Richards, Metahaven and Martine Syms.

Artists are invited to submit their proposals through the Image Behaviour Open Call (17 February – 30 March 2021), after which an international jury will make their selections. The Image Behaviour Open Call is part of the ICA’s long-standing support for platforming new voices – and especially for artists whose work falls outside traditional categories.

Stefan Kalmár, Executive Director of the ICA, said:

‘We are experiencing one of the biggest paradigm shifts in society since 1946, the year of the ICA’s founding in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. For the ICA today, this means to discuss racial justice, social justice, the ecological crisis, the re-emergence of nationalism and the deep-rooted crisis of western democracies – and to discuss them in relation to each other, challenging the underlying conditions that produce them. The ICA was founded to present urgent new works that speak to our contemporary predicament, and I am grateful to Dr. Martens for joining us in our efforts to commission such work at a time when it is needed most.’

Artists are invited to submit their proposals through the Image Behaviour Open Call between 17 February – 30 March 2021.