Bedford Producer Hub aims to support practitioners creating a diverse range of projects which benefit local participants and audiences and are relevant to local needs and wants.

We are looking for emerging producers for our 2024-25 Bedford Producer Hub Cohort! 

• Are you someone full of creative ideas but looking for help in getting them off the ground? 

• Do you like organising arts & cultural activities such as exhibitions, performances or events, or creating art that you want to be seen by a wider audience?   

• Are you an artist or community leader who needs help to find funding and to develop your project management, marketing and community engagement skills to become successful in making your dreams a reality? 

The Bedford Producer Hub is a FREE mentoring and networking opportunity for local, emerging creative producers delivered by 1DegreeEast in partnership with Bedford Creative Arts.  By joining the Hub, you will get access to a programme of 1-2-1 mentoring sessions, group seminars, webinars and networking events aimed at supporting you to develop a creative idea into a real project that provides cultural activity for communities in Bedford.  You’ll also receive a small bursary to match-fund your project.   

It’s open to producers and self-producing artists working in any creative artform and at a stage of their career where they feel access to professional support will help them develop their ideas.   

10 people will be selected to join the cohort from November 2024 – July 2025 from an open application process.   

We’re especially interested to hear from people who are under-presented in cultural activity in the UK such as those from Global Majority backgrounds, people without formal education or training qualifications, and those with a disability, neurodiversity or a long-term health condition.   

Here’s what some of our 2023-24 Cohort said about the programme: 

Thank you for offering your ongoing support – this is such a valuable resource to have, and I feel privileged to be part of it.  

It’s hard to find useful information on how to start an art career but the Bedford Producer Hub gave me a strong foundation to begin projects.  

The content and presentations of the cohort meet-ups were really valuable and relevant, with some amazing assets provided to help us on our way. It’s been really great to hear other people’s approach to their project and their creative process too.  

Am I eligible to apply? 

Anyone can apply if they are: 

• Living or working in Bedford Borough.  

• Working (or hoping to start working) professionally in arts and culture in any artform or discipline.  

• Able to commit to attending regular sessions every few weeks including five Wednesday evening events (5-8pm) across 9 months, as well as taking time in-between to develop your ideas.  

• Early enough in your career that mentoring and training would be beneficial to you – such as an emerging producer or someone changing career direction or an artist looking to produce their own projects.  

How to apply 

If you would like to apply to join our 2024-25 Cohort you need to send an email to producerhub@bedfordcreativearts.org.uk that provides us with the following information in any format that suits you.   

This could be in a document that you attach (no longer than 2 sides of A4, please!) or it could be a video or audio recording (no longer than 5 minutes, please!).  The choice is yours. If you feel you need another way to apply, get in touch and have a chat on 01234 818670.   

In your application you need to tell us: 

1. A bit about yourself.  Who are you and what creative things do you do?  

2. How would you describe your career stage as a creative professional? E.g. Student, Emerging/early career, Mid-career.  

3. What is your artform specialism (or main area of creativity if more than one)? E.g. visual art, music, community events etc.   

4. What professional study or training have you had previously (if any)?  

5. Why do you want to join the Producer Hub Cohort?  (Please tell us the difference you think it will make to your career)  

6. Who do you want to reach with your creative project/s?   

7. If you already have an idea for a project you’d like to make happen, please tell us about that.   

You also need to attach a copy of our Equal Opportunities Form that helps us to make sure we are reaching people from a wide range of backgrounds. 

Equal Opportunities Form

Please send your application us no later than 5pm on Friday 11 October 2024.  We’ll notify everyone who applies if they have been successful or not.   

Applicants will be selected on the basis of: 

• Diversity of artform (to ensure a range of artforms are supported across the cohort)  

• Levels of prior support & experience (if you have a high level of training or experience, this opportunity is unlikely to be helpful)  

• The realism and artistic merit of your project ideas 

• Your demographic profile (to ensure we reach people of a range of backgrounds that are representative of Bedford) 

What happens if I’m successful? 

• You’ll be invited to attend a programme of five Wednesday evening group sessions beginning November 2024 at the University of Bedfordshire’s Polhill Campus.  

• You’ll be allocated a mentor who you can contact in-between sessions for advice on developing your project.  

• You’ll be invited to a series of group networking sessions and webinars to share project ideas with your Cohort peers and learn more skills.    

• At the end of the programme, if you have a viable project idea, you’ll be offered a bursary of 10% of the project’s cost up to a max of £500.   

• After July 2025, if you haven’t yet completed your project, your mentor will remain accessible for a further year to help you see your idea through to the end.   

If you have any questions, please contact producerhub@bedfordcreativearts.org.uk or 01234 818670 to discuss the programme. 

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