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Cultural Connector - Newcastle, UK
Deadline for applications: 15 July 2025
Digital Interviews: Thursday 17 July - Thursday 24 July 2025
Neon Dance seeks an emerging practitioner from any artform/discipline (EG: Performing Arts, Literature, Media, Music, Costume, Film, History etc) to engage their local community and network with a performance of Last and First Men by Neon Dance taking place at Dance City on Thursday 18 September 2025. The artist will also be supported to deliver their own creative response to Last and First Men. The practitioner must be based in or around Newcastle upon Tyne to apply.
Bursary Fee: GBP £650.00 inclusive
Budget for creative response materials & access costs: GBP£100.00
About Last and First Men
Based on the groundbreaking 1930 sci-fi novel by Olaf Stapledon Last and First Men concluded the beautiful career of Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson. Neon Dance will present a contemporary dance adaptation on Thursday 18 September 2025 at Dance City in Newcastle. Our contemporary dance performance is set to the backdrop of Johannsson’s 16mm black and white film, with narration from Tilda Swinton and original music composed by Jóhannsson and Yair Elazar Glotman.
Role
The Cultural Connector will promote the Last and First Men performance at Dance City, Newcastle, to their network, peers and local communities.
The Cultural Connector will plan and deliver their own creative response to Last and First Men for people in their local community. Your response could be creative writing / a piece of music / a short film / workshop / event or any other creative response. You will be supported by Neon Dance and it will need to take place by 30th November 2025. This role is task based, not hour-based.
We work flexibly and remotely, to agreed deadlines. As long as tasks are completed, you can define when and how they get done.
We welcome applications from practitioners across all art forms, sectors and subjects of interest.
Responsibilities
In promoting Last and First Men, you will describe Neon Dance and the project in your own words and using chosen methods (EG: social media, word of mouth, personal invites). We want you to tell people about our activities to engage them in a conversation about the project and themes it explores.
You will plan and deliver your own creative response to take place physically or digitally by 30 November 2025.
You will consider access and inclusion for your own creative response to Last and First Men. There is a maximum budget of GBP£100.00 available to support the costs/materials of this activity. All expenditure must be agreed in writing in advance with Neon Dance Executive Producer and receipts provided.
You will be supported by Neon Dance, including mentoring from Adrienne Hart, artistic director and/or Maeve O’Neill, executive producer.
Essential Attributes
The Cultural Connector must be based in or around Newcastle upon Tyne.
As emerging practitioners our Cultural Connectors can be from any sector/industry and any disciplines (not solely arts or dance based)
There is no age limit for our 2025 Cultural Connectors
Mentoring
As part of your relationship with Neon Dance you will have a 1-2-1 meeting with Neon Dance’s Artistic Director and/or Executive Producer to discuss and support your professional development.
How to apply
Please answer the following questions:
What interests you about Neon Dance & Last and First Men?
What community or group are you currently engaged with?
Describe what creative response or activity you would like to deliver, in 500 words maximum. This can be a physical or digital response that links directly to your own professional practice.
Your application can be written (1 x A4 page maximum) or recorded (3 minutes maximum to audio/camera*).
Please also include:
Your CV (maximum 1 page A4) or LinkedIn profile
Name and contact of a reference
*For emailing large files, please use WeTransfer.
Send your application by midday on Tues 15th July to:
Maeve O’Neill, Executive Producer maeve@neondance.org
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Neon Dance values representation and strives to promote equality and diversity in our work. We welcome and actively seek applications from those currently under-represented in our industry and the arts community; particularly people from the Global Majority, and disabled people (as defined by the Equality Act 2010).
We will guarantee an interview to any visually impaired, d/Deaf or disabled candidate who fulfils the minimum essential criteria for the role and we are open to proposals of ways this role might be undertaken if our proposed structure presents barriers to any applicant.
If you have any specific access requirements please let us know in your application.