Inkubator

Inkubator is a development programme for writers and songwriters who want to develop their skills in facilitation and participatory arts practice with children, young people and adults

New Writing North introduces people to creative writing through exciting programmes across schools and communities in the North East. From our Saturday morning writing groups, to our long-term relationships with primary and secondary schools, and more recently our community programmes in Newcastle and Gateshead which focus on co-creation with individuals and groups. Our programmes offer people the opportunity to experiment and create across forms and disciplines, from songwriting and rapping, to prose and poetry to memoir writing and scriptwriting.

This new Inkubator programme will provide eight individuals with the practical skills and knowledge they need to deliver sessions with people in schools and/or community settings. Through the Inkubator programme, participants will also be matched with a mentor who can provide more in-depth support around their practice and individual needs.

Course Structure

Inkubator is a four-month development programme comprising of 5 training sessions and 5 placement sessions.

Training sessions will cover the skills required for facilitation, as well as an introduction to freelance working, safeguarding and evaluation. There will be an emphasis on the importance of critical reflection as a way to improve your participatory arts practice.

Training will take place in central Newcastle on the following dates, from 10am – 12pm:

• Tues 14^th March
• Tues 21^st March
• Tues 28^th March
• Tues 4^th April

Placement sessions will allow you to put your facilitation skills into action at one of New Writing North’s Young Writers’ programmes. Placements will take place between May and June 2023, and will be tailored to participant’s skills, interests and availability.

The placement will offer a combination of shadowing experienced practitioners and leading delivery. A typical placement might be four afternoon sessions at a secondary school, plus one session at a Saturday Young Writers’ group. Participants will be accompanied by a New Writing North Producer or Lead Writer during placement.

Over the course of the four months, you will also be expected to attend three mentoring sessions with your individual mentor and carry out regular reflections, as well as attend a final evaluation session.

Funding

It is free to take part in Inkubator. All successful applicants will receive £50 per session to support participation on the course, totalling £500. We hope that following successful completion of the course, we will be able to offer participants further freelance work on New Writing North’s programmes.

Eligiblity

• You must be over 18 years of age.
• You should be passionate about working with children, young people or communities.
• You should be able to demonstrate current practice of an artistic discipline to a high standard (e.g. performances, publication, online portfolio).
• Words should form a significant part of your artistic practice (e.g. songwriting, rapping, scriptwriting, poetry, prose, essays).
• You should be able to commit to the course structure outlined above.
• You must be able to travel to New Writing North projects in the North East on a regular basis.

Through our programmes, we aim to show young people that writing is a passion and a career which is attainable for people of all backgrounds and life experiences. For this reason, it is important to us that our freelancers represent the diversity of the young people who we work with. We are particularly interested in receiving applications for this opportunity from individuals who are underrepresented in current arts and culture. This includes but is not limited to: writers of colour, disabled writers, LGBTQIA+ and non-binary writers, and working class writers.

Please note: applicants will be subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check to assess their suitability to work with young people. This will take place prior to any work on New Writing North’s programmes. The cost of your DBS will be covered by New Writing North.