New for Latitude 2019! Trailer Park area and Arts Caravan Competition

Trailer Park has been part of one of the strangest art and design communities at Electric Picnic festival in Ireland and now it’s coming to Latitude Festival 2019. The new area will be a metropolis of tiny venues, interactive cultural outposts, fun-clinics and oddball theatres as well as a haven for hilarious caravans and utilitarian mobile homes.

But, that’s not all as we’re thrilled to reveal that you could be a part of this vibrant new area. We’ve teamed up with Will Hardie, the master craftsman behind Channel 4’s Amazing Spaces and Shed of the Year, plus the creative minds behind Electric Picnic festival’s Trailer Park to launch an art caravan competition.

Grants of up to £2000 will be available for creators to invent, design, build and host their own caravan or mobile structure at this year’s Latitude.  The most jaw-dropping and inspiring ideas will be developed to be a part of the Trailer Park ‘mobiletropolis’.

Will Hardie said, “I’m delighted to be in involved in this competition, I love that Trailer Park supports people’s passion and vision to turn the humble caravan into wonderful and wacky creations and where better to do this than at a festival where all can be entertained and inspired.”

“The British Isles are home to so many creative and eccentric individuals who demonstrate incredible vision, ingenuity and skill in the wacky projects they build at home. This is a chance to bring your crazy inventions to one of the brightest and most creative festivals around!”

Although Trailer Park is new to Latitude, in Ireland, over 60 creators have been given grants to help them realise their wildest ideas for Electric Picnic and the results have been mind-blowingl. Now it’s Latitude’s turn as we’re encouraging all of you artists, architects, theatre-makers, performance groups and creators of all sorts, with an appetite for what makes a festival really sing to submit an amazing design

The Artistic Director of Trailer Park, Roz Jellett said: “In Trailer Park we really do set out to make people laugh. Projects that marry creativity, participation and style also come with an immense sense of mischief and creative abandon. This competition loves a good host, so if you have a gang of friends who like to make people around you have fun, simply think of how you might do that in the most unusual way, and either inside or in front of a room on wheels.”

HOW TO APPLY

To apply, please read the Art Caravan Competition information below and complete our application form. If you have any questions, please email trailerparkcaravanchallenge@gmail.com

The application deadline is at 11.59am on Saturday 20th April 2019.

ART CARAVAN COMPETITION INFORMATION

WHERE AND WHEN?
Trailer Park is a haven of hilarious caravans, utilitarian mobile homes that have undergone surgery, vans re-functioned, campers converted. Collectively they create a metropolis of tiny venues, interactive cultural outposts, fun-clinics and oddball theatres. It is a brand new area in Latitude in 2019.

At Electric Picnic Festival in Ireland, for the past five years, over 60 creators have been given grants to help them realise their wildest ideas, and become part of one of the strangest art and design communities in the country. It is now the turn of Latitude…

We are looking for jubilant and bewildering caravan-based ideas to join Trailer Park – we are seeking fresh designers, artists, engineers, architects, community groups, thespians, dancers, builders, furniture makers, photographers, sculptors, horticulturalists, steelworkers and most of all dreamers and asking them to emerge from their cerebral laboratories with some preposterous festival inventions!

MORE INFORMATION
These bursaries are not for your labour; they are for materials or skills that you do not have! We are looking for projects that stand on their own as installations, independent of performances or activities, although these may well accompany and complete the installation. They do not need to be roadworthy, but it would definitely help if they were. They do need to be safe. They need to be about the design of the exterior as well as the interior, and applicants should think about lighting as the area operates at night-time as well as daytime.

Please note that this project will require a significant time investment, and the ability to adhere to firm deadlines, and is going to need to be fuelled by artistic and practical passion.

The number of crew passes required to host your venue for the three full days of the festival is 8, and these obviously include camping. Each is a wristband (ie they cannot be shared) and they cannot be sold.

HOW MANY GRANTS ARE AWARDED?
Up to 10, including some proposals may be selected but not funded if deemed deliverable without our help.

WHEN MAY I APPLY FOR A GRANT?
The deadline for emailed grant proposals is Saturday 20th April at 11:59 AM. No exceptions. We much prefer that you email your proposal, but if you cannot, your mail must be received by us before the deadline.

WHEN WILL I KNOW IF I’VE BEEN AWARDED A GRANT?
Most final decisions will be made by April 15th.

WHAT IF I HAVE AN IDEA, BUT NOT A CARAVAN?
We have access to a very limited number of caravans and vehicles that can be made available, but these will remain the property of Trailer Park after the festival. We thoroughly advise that you go in search of your own caravan – the country is full of them, often people will be delighted for you to take them away, and we prefer to see older caravans being remodelled. Those who provide their own caravan/vehicle will retain ownership of their caravan project at the conclusion of the event.

SHOULD I BE AWARDED A GRANT, HOW MUCH WILL I RECEIVE?
This varies from project to project, but grants normally pay for only a portion of production costs – predominantly to cover material costs, but not for your own labour or time. Designers should be ready to provide other methods and sources of funding if they are going to be needed, and illustrate an effort to encourage collaboration and co-operation with other practitioners (for example performative groups). You are more likely to be awarded a grant if you are asking for an amount that is on the lower end of the range.

WHEN AND HOW WILL I RECEIVE MONEY?
A schedule of payment is developed for each project, agreeable to you, to ensure delivery of the final work.

WHEN DOES THE COMPLETE PIECE NEED TO BE DELIVERED OR COLLECTED?
Your caravan must be in position by the Sunday 14th July in Latitude in Suffolk. Note that further work on the caravan can be completed onsite, but the caravan itself MUST be available for positioning onsite on that date.

IF MY CARAVAN IS SELECTED TO TRAVEL TO IRELAND AS WELL – TO THE ELECTRIC PICNIC, WILL I RECEIVE ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE TO TRAVEL FROM THE UK WITH IT?
Yes, we will cover the cost of the ferry and fuel, and work with you to make it possible in terms of your time away.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR KEEPING MY INSTALLATION SAFE?
Site Security will be responsible for anti-vandalism measures in the weeks running up to the event, but you should make sure your caravan is lockable and safe. During the Festival, you are wholly responsible. Trailer Park will provide infrastructure to stop festival-goers from going where they shouldn’t.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE IF AN ACCIDENT OCCURS DURING THE EVENT?
Ensuring your creation does not physically harm anyone is a key responsibility of the designer. You will need to think about a method statement if appropriate, and Festival Republic’s own structural engineer and their safety officer will inspect each creation to ensure they are fit for purpose. Festival Republic will then provide public liability insurance for during the Festival. You must take responsibility for the safety of anyone involved in the design, manufacture, transport and removal of the structure before and after the event.

ARE RESIDENTIAL CARAVANS (CREATIONS WHICH PROVIDE BEDDING) ELIGIBLE?
No. This competition promotes interactivity and artwork, although caravans can have the functional aspects of sleeping areas included etc.

WHAT ARE YOUR CRITERIA FOR AWARDING GRANTS?
It has to be visually spectacular. Experiential.

Interactivity with festival-goers. Interactive design brings people together around it, provoking reactions and creating roles and transforming voyeurs into active contributors. (Sometimes, the mere act of encounter (such as a mobile sculpture) is sufficient, but most of the time more is needed).

The thoroughness of your proposal, including a detailed budget, a construction schedule, and at least one drawing. Make it easy for us to choose you.

IS RETAILING TO THE PUBLIC FROM THE CARAVAN POSSIBLE?
In certain very rare instances it is, but full-on food concessions and bars of any kind should not use this competition as back door for a commercial venture.

DOES OWNERSHIP OF THE CARAVAN/VEHICLE REMAIN WITH THE DESIGNER/MAKER?
If the designer/maker owns the caravan or vehicle, yes. If they are making use of a caravan or vehicle supplied by us, no.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THESE INSTALLATIONS AFTER THE FESTIVAL?
The creators must leave the site ‘greenfield’. We may be able to help with storage, and this can be discussed individually, and may carry a cost.

PREVIOUS SUBMISSIONS HAVE INCLUDED:
To Let – A team of real estate agents trying to sell a decrepit caravan to passers-by
Caravan Club Extravanaganza – the front side folds down to become a stage for bands
Police check-point – a police van checking passers-by for inebriation
Turbante – Brazilian collective who dress people in turbans
Narnia – into a caravan and out the back is a snowy kingdom
Tow Ho Ho – a caravan full of Christmas cheer, carols, and drunk Santa
Trailer Tower – a viewing platform in a caravan that is craned into the sky
Caravagina – a rebirthing experience
Redneck Wedding – a mobile home with a confederate flag outside and an extended family within
Lord Ganesh’s Larder – A regular delivery van given the vibrant Calcutta bus makeover, including an elephant carriage on the roof.
Terrible Terry’s Jail – A caravan with jails bars on the windows for misbehaving festival goers, who then have to find the escape plan.
Gangsta Granny – A collection of senior ladies knitting everything that moves and serving tea to a hip-hop soundtrack.
Seagull’s Nest – seagulls scavenge the nearby neighbourhood for debris to bring back to their giant nest (including a broken caravan).
Mad De-Programming Machine – a scientific experiment using submarine parts, wires and colanders to give your brains a fresh start.

Complete the Arts Caravan Competition application form by 20th April to be in with a chance of making a magnificent mobile creation for the Trailer Park at Latitude 2019

Please review the competition Terms and Conditions and Prize Promotion Notice.