3. We don’t think we’ll get it
In a world that has mostly excluded everyone but the most privileged for centuries, open calls can be very intimidating for anyone who grew up feeling that these opportunities weren’t meant for them.
Re-examine your criteria — If you are evaluating someone’s work, try to focus on the work and not the prestige of the institutions that might also have biased selection processes. Ask for biographies, not CVs. It might also be worth noting that the candidate with an un-polished portfolio or submission might actually benefit the most from attending your residency versus the tailored applicant.
List your alumni — Show who you have supported in the past, with images of their work and portraits. Visibility matters! If you have their permission, encourage people to reach out to them directly to ask about their experiences.
Invite people in — Reshape your open call language to be encouraging — instead of saying “we don’t discriminate”, say “we invite [people of specific underrepresented communities] to apply.” Make an effort to reach out to three people whose work you admire but who don’t look like you (or come from the same background as you, your previous grantees, or your team) and explicitly invite them to apply.
Question rigid categories — If your organisation is for emerging creatives, let them define what that means instead of strictly limiting by age or years of experience. Same goes for disciplines, gender identity, language fluency, and so on. Embrace fluidity and understand that everyone comes to creative work from very different paths.
Be kind and generous — Mention if you will be giving feedback or recommending other opportunities in the area or that you know about even if someone is rejected, and if people can apply again with a different project. Make sure people gain something from the process even if they don’t get it.
Answer inquiries — Have an email or phone number people can call with questions. Collect the questions and concerns you get and create public FAQs in multiple medium — text, video, audio. You can also offer webinars and answer questions in real time via Facebook, Twitter, or Reddit. There is also the “Ask Me Anything” feature in Instagram Stories that you can launch while your open call is live.
Show and tell: Ask previously accepted artists to share part or all of their applications and post this on your website or host workshops. Also share testimonies and ask previous artists to leave reviews!
