Spark Bus Artist Call Out, Everyone Here

Deadline: Monday 27 January, 10am

We’re looking for up to 10 artists to create and deliver quality artistic work that inspires creativity on our Everyone Here Spark Bus. 

Devised by our Jury for Joy, the Spark Bus will park up in locations across the region for a day, bursting with performances, exhibitions and creative activities developed by commissioned artists. The Spark Bus will tour West Cumbria between March and May 2025, taking art into the heart of communities.  

The Spark Bus has a number of priority locations that we would like to visit:  

• Seascale  
• Distington  
• Aspatria  
• Bowness On Solway  
• Dearham  
• Frizington  
• Mirehouse  
• Flimby  
• Cleator Moor  
• Ennerdale  
• Allonby 

We’re open to artists who might want to create work for one or multiple locations from this list. 

What we’re looking for:

Artists of any discipline! Musicians, poets, sculptors, painters, dancers. You have space on the bus and may spill out into the surrounding area. Your work could be an existing piece or something brand new. It should have a participatory element to it that draws people in and be accessible to people with different needs. Our Director of Access, Unique Spencer, can help you adapt your activity to be accessible if needed.  

We aim for 20 – 30 people to attend each bus location who can attend a variety of activities on the day. We’re particularly keen to hear from artists from or based in West Cumbria. 

We will work with you to confirm the logistical details and how your work can sit within the Spark Bus visits. At this stage, we want quality artistic proposals that inspire creativity. 

We’re looking for 3 types of work:

Ongoing artwork that happens throughout the day (eg. exhibition pieces, sculptures, projections)
Performances of 1 – 3 hours straight through or broken up (eg. musicians/singers, DJs, dance, comedy, spoken word)
Participatory activity (eg. workshops, crafting)
You might deliver one, two or all three of these. These could be existing work or something brand new. 

We will have 3 spaces:

The bus is best placed for exhibitions and ‘walk-through’ activity like exhibitions
We will also have partner venues such as village halls, pubs, community centres which can hold performances or workshops.
And there will be some outdoor space which can be flexible too (weather dependent, of course) 

What we’re offering:

Small exhibition, participatory and performance spaces on the bus, outdoor and in partner venues.
Logistics support.
£300 – £1,000 fee per location (depending on the scale of work, including prep time and attendance on the day up to 10 hours).
An additional resource and production budget to be negotiated. 

About Everyone Here

Everyone Here is a community arts programme based in West Cumbria. We believe creativity is for everyone and can be explored, expressed and enjoyed in many ways. It’s a powerful tool that brings value to people’s lives and can inspire real change in the place we call home. 

To help local communities bring to life the kind of creative activity they want to experience on their own doorstep, we’re establishing a citizens-led vision for creative activities and events here in West Cumbria in partnership with local people and organisations. 

About the Jury for Joy

The Jury for Joy is a citizens jury, made up of people from across West Cumbria, who are in charge of Everyone Here’s programme. They work together to decide where we take projects, how to spend the budget and what kind of work to commission.  

How To Apply

You can apply by completing the below application form or by answering the questions as a voice note or video and emailing to jamie@everyonehere.org
We want to hear about you as an artist, your practice and a proposal for how you would use your time on the Spark Bus.

Spark Bus Artist Application Form

If you have any questions or would like more information, you can email:
Jamie Walsh, General Manager – jamie@everyonehere.org

If you would like to discuss any access requirements you may have, you can email:
Unique Spencer, Director of Access & Lead Jury for Joy Facilitator – unique@everyonehere.org