Rough Cut Collective | Applications Open

Through our Rough Cut programme that supports the development of young artists (14-30), we are offering a rolling opportunity to apply to become part of the Rough Cut Collective mentored and supported by the Wise Words Team.

You may be a poet looking to develop as a performer; an emerging poet aspiring to make poetry a career or a performer developing their first show. You might want to develop your skills as a producer or have a project that you are excited about developing alone or with someone else. Our aim is to support your un-refined or ‘Rough’ ideas and to collaborate with you to turn these into fully realised ambitions through mentoring, skills development and where applicable through seed funding and helping you access additional financial support.

The programme is designed to be flexible, to adapt around your life, to your development needs as an artist and to your project idea. For those of you who need just a little bit of support to move your project over a final hurdle you may apply to be a member of the collective for only 3 months whilst others might be looking to develop within professional roles as producers, makers or performers and might benefit from a whole year’s involvement.

Being a member of the Rough Cut Collective would give you access to:

1. Use of the hot-desking space at the Cowshed Studios in Bridge (where mentoring will take place)
2. Networking opportunities within the Cowshed Community but also within our wider networks
3. Mentoring and guidance from the Wise Words team and our network of partner organisations and associates
4. The possibility of seed funding and / or help to apply for further funds

Our expectations of Rough Cut Collective Members:

1. To be self-motivated and able to drive your project forward even through the trickiest moments
2. To aspire towards the highest quality of which you are capable
3. To creating a quarterly post for our blog (written or pictorial) that shares your learning and experience of being a member of the Rough Cut Collective.
4. Passing it Forward: Embracing our values around being generous and sharing knowledge, learning, experience and opportunities with others.
5. Give something back: We are not funded to offer this mentoring and do it in our own free time because we believe that it’s something not currently available but essential to supporting young poets and the development of the poetry scene in Canterbury. Instead of payment for the mentoring we ask members to embrace the idea of supporting a Wise Words and the wider community through skills swap.
6. You and your work is the best advertisement for Wise Words and the Rough Cut Collective as well as being evidence to those who fund us that their support is worthwhile. As a Rough Cut Collective member you will be making a commitment to:
   • Represent Wise Words, our ethos and aims through acting with kindness, professionalism and integrity at all times.
   • Acknowledge our support publicly. You should do this by featuring the sentence ‘developed in collaboration with‘ and our logo on all of your related information, marketing and publicity materials. We hope you will use this widely and regard it as visual recognition of your success.