Open Call for Farmers

All that any farmer has to do at this stage is to tell us about their farm – its size, what the land is like on the farm and the broader landscape it sits within, what type of farming is practiced now, what was practiced in the past, and where you think it’s going in the future. Tell us about any special characteristics of the farm – archaeology, natural features, wildlife, cultural heritage and folklore, anything that you believe is noteworthy about your farm.

From the interest we receive, we will select between six and eight farms across Leitrim and Fermanagh. This isn’t a competition of the best farms, but rather a selection of different farms across the two counties - farms of different size, different farm practices, different characteristics and different ideas for the future. Farmers aren’t expected to have ever engaged with an artist in the past, just to have an interest in doing so now.

We advertise the programme and the farm profiles to artists across the island of Ireland and seek expressions of interest from them. We then organise a one-hour tour to each farm for artists interested in one or other farm. Following the site visits, artists are invited to prepare proposals for what they would like to do as part of a project at one or other of the farms they have visited. An independent panel shortlists a maximum of three proposals and we present these to each participating farmer who makes the final selection of which artist (if any) they would like to work with.

These proposals that artists have prepared are not definitive in-stone plans that the artist would be expected to follow directly. Rather, by identifying potential lines of inquiry, areas of interest, and processes they would like to undertake, the proposal provides a vivid insight into the applicant’s methodology as an artist, their understanding of the farm, and a demonstration of their capacity for developing innovative projects appropriate to that farm. Given that these proposals are only based on a short site visit, while they may serve as useful starting points, the anticipation is that projects would evolve when underway and differ substantially, if not completely, from the original proposal.

The initial residency lasts for ten days over two months. These ten days can be taken in one block or spread over the two months as agreed between the artist and farmer. There are no preconditions on what this part of the project might consist of, and it is not obligatory to have produced anything by the end of it – although a materials budget is available if required. This part of the project is perhaps best described as action-research. For many Farmer/Artist partnerships, the 10-day residency might be the right length to explore what they want to do together, but some partnerships 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.

Farmer/Artist partnerships moving onto this phase will have based this next proposal on shared understandings and ambitions for what they want to get achieve and see coming from the project – a joint proposal. While the first 10-day project might have been action-research, this part of the project is more focused and does anticipate having definite outcomes of some sort or planning towards definite outcomes.