Undercover Artist Festival 2021: Expressions of Interest

This is an incredible opportunity for emerging and professional artists from across Australia to showcase their work at Australia’s premier performing arts and disability festival. Undercover Artist is looking for exciting works with something to say. They want to showcase the boldest and brightest artists with disability, on stage over four astonishing days. 

Undercover Artist Festival program in 2021 will bend the rules, push artistic boundaries, and contribute to the broader movement towards greater recognition for artists with disability. 

Undercover Artist is seeking daring works in the following forms: 

• Theatre 
• Music 
• Dance 
• Cabaret 
• Circus 
• Physical Theatre 
• Performance Art 
• Comedy 
• Spoken Word 
• Poetry  

What they can provide to support your participation in Undercover Artist Festival: 

• Marketing for the Festival 
• Performance venue/space 
• Technical operators 
• Front of House staff 
• Ticketing  
• Assistance with arranging access services for your performances 
• Letters of support for any related funding applications 
• A fee for your performance, negotiated with you.
   

All works need to be: 

• Rehearsed, polished and performance-ready 
• No longer than 90 minutes (60 minutes is ideal) 
• Able to bump in and bump out in no more than 50 minutes. Undercover Artist will work with artists if their access requirements do not align with this time constraint.

Technical Restrictions 

Undercover Artist encourages applicants to apply with their preferred technical capabilities. They will work with successful applicants to meet minimum requirements where possible, but are unable to confirm technical capabilities until the final stages of programming. 

Creative and Community programs

In 2021, there are two ways you can submit an Expression of Interest: Creative, and Community.  

Community Program

The Community program track of the Festival is designed for workshops, discussions and community group presentations or performances. This track is suitable for participants in community choirs or ensembles, or for professional artists wanting to facilitate workshops for artists and participants with and without disability.  

To be eligible for consideration in this track, your application must:

• Demonstrate a disability-led creative process and product.* 
• Showcase examples of previous work relevant to the application. 
• Provide a clear picture of the workshop or conversation you intend to present at Undercover Artist Festival 2021. 
• Be submitted before 11:59pm, Sunday 28 February 2021.

*It is recommended that submissions for the Community track be disability-led, but it is not compulsory. Events that are not disability-led must demonstrate support for the agency of all artists with disability or who are D/deaf. 

Download the community program application form as a Word Document.

Creative Program

The Creative program track of the Festival will showcase professional standard works that are polished and performance-ready. These projects must be disability-led. If you are wondering if your work qualifies, please see the ‘What is Disability-Led?’ guide for more information.  

To be eligible for consideration in this track, your application must:

• Clearly demonstrate a disability-led creative process and product.
• Showcase examples of previous work relevant to the application. 
• Provide a clear picture of the polished, performance-ready work you intend to present at Undercover Artist Festival 2021.  
• Be submitted before 11:59pm, Sunday 28 February 2021.

Please note that you do not need to be performance-ready at the time of application but need to demonstrate how your work will be performance-ready in time for the Festival in September 2021. 

Your work does not need to focus on disability in theme or narrative. Undercover Artist also welcomes and encourages disability-led works that do not focus on disability.