Artist Call out
OPEN CALL - Match Make
Applications open: 2 October 2025 Deadline: 24 October 2025
Maiden Voyage Dance invites proposals from dance makers based in the Derry City & Strabane District Council area that will expand your artistic practice and engage people with dance as audience members or participants in imaginative and meaningful ways.
Who we are
Maiden Voyage is Northern Ireland’s commissioning company for contemporary dance. We exist to reach and move people with exceptional dance experiences.
What we are looking for
We aim to create more opportunities for dance to thrive. We are seeking clear project ideas that bring people into dialogue with contemporary dance in new ways. We are not prescribing a particular outcome, but your idea might reimagine where dance can take place, collaborate with another artform, experiment with form and presentation, create an experience that allows audiences to see, feel, or participate in dance differently or connect with a specific community or locality shaping the project through co-creation or shared authorship.
A total of up to £10,000 is available to support the selected project(s), which must be completed by 31 March 2026. One or more projects may be selected depending on volume of submissions received.
Criteria
You must be a dance artist based in the Derry City & Strabane District Council area and your project should be
Focused in the Derry City & Strabane District Council area.
Allow the artist(s) to engage deeply with their practice to gain valuable insights and experiences that will shape their future work.
Resonate and align with Maiden Voyage Dance’s values of Exploration, Collaboration, and Generosity.
Create new opportunities for audiences and/or participants to experience dance.
Include a clear outcome (this may be a sharing, installation, screening or other event).
How to Apply
Please submit your CV (maximum 2 pages) and a short proposal (maximum 2 pages) which should include;
A description of your idea and proposed outcome.
How your proposal meets the criteria.
Information about your artistic practice and proposed collaborators.
A proposed budget and timeline.
How will applications be assessed
All applications will go through an eligibility check as a pre-selection process.
Each eligible application will be read and scored by the full panel made up of Maiden Voyage staff/board representative and an independent industry professional. The final decision will be made by Maiden Voyage informed by the panel. You may be contacted for further conversation during the decision making process.
The selection decision will be based on the following
Scope of the applicant’s creative and artistic vision
The feasibility of the proposed project
The project’s alignment with the current stage of the applicant’s career development
Submission & Deadline
Applications should be sent to info@maidenvoyagedance.com by noon on 24th October 2025 with subject heading MATCH MAKE PROPOSAL.
Informal conversations are welcome in advance of submission. Please contact nuala@maidenvoyagedance.com
If you have any accessibility requirements, please let us know so we can provide the necessary support
We will aim to inform applicants of the outcome of their submission by 7th November 2025
Maiden Voyage and Dance and this opportunity are supported by Arts Coucil of Northern Ireland.