SERVICE USED: SEED FUND
BY: GILES PERRING, MUSIC COMPOSER
FOR: VISIT TO MEET POTENTIAL COLLABORATOR, Mécaniques Vivantes, IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE IN 2019
“I’m Giles Perring and I work across different art forms and media, including music composition, sound sculpture, record production and live event creation. I base my work from the Isle of Jura where I have a studio space. I was initially pointed towards the Seed Fund opportunity via the CHArts project here in Argyll, and although I’d been a promotor member of the Touring Network in the past, I hadn’t been involved as an artist in my own right and I tend to be hesitant about looking out funding and similar support for my own work. Having learnt the Touring Network offered the Seed Fund, I applied and was able to get what turned out to be vital travel support to visit a potential collaborator, Mécaniques Vivantes, in the South of France. I spent a few days in their studio getting to understand them and working up ideas. They have a very distinct and unconventional set of musical/sound devices that I really needed to hear and experience in person, and then try to play some music of my own.
With the challenges that a location like Jura presents, it’s often difficult to travel to do this kind of exploration, while collaboration like I and MV hope for really relies on this kind of encounter.
It was a pretty light touch process to apply for the Seed Fund and the payment covered my travel from Jura to France – helpful for anyone who finds forms challenging. Going to the fund puts your work into a well connected network as well as helping you financially which is worth remembering too.
This was a crucial kickstart for what I hope will be an exciting project for Jura and Argyll when it unfolds.
ABOUT SEED FUND: If you’re a Cairn Member of The Touring Network, you can apply for up to £500 to help take your practice as a promoter or performer in a new direction. Whether you’re looking to visit festivals, or showcase events, or to develop new partnerships – this easy to apply, quick turnaround fund is for you.
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