The Extra Ordinary Exchange, 2023

EOP has always been imagined as a network built on personal connections and mutual support.

In the last three years EOP membership has grown rapidly to almost 500 people. The Extra Ordinary Exchange aims to bring together members across the UK and beyond, pairing peers and opening up space for new creative conversations. The main focus of The Exchange is to develop new professional relationships and friendships between artists who wouldn’t otherwise be able to connect, and it is ultimately an open-ended process with no limits or boundaries, simply framed by the invitation to begin a discussion. 

Between September 2023 and February 2024 the pairs will meet regularly online or in person. We suggest regular monthly meetings, however there is no set format for how to collaborate, there is also no need to generate an outcome. Participants can communicate however they wish, at a frequency to suit the pairing.

You will need to be self-motivated, happy to organise conversations with your partner directly, and willing to put the time aside to regularly meet. Members who have participated in previous Exchanges are welcome to apply.

The Extra Ordinary Exchange will be supported by a couple of events, including a professional development session in Autumn 2023 and a public summit in March 2024, where pairs can share experiences, observations and outcomes from the collaborations. 

Key Dates

Wednesday, 28 June, 1 – 2pm
Pre Application Workshop. Book your place HERE 

11 August 2023
Application deadline. Apply HERE 

5 September 2023
Pairs notified, and start working together.

November 2023 (exact date TBC)
Professional development event.

15 March 2024
The Extra Ordinary Exchange Summit, including sharing some of the experiences and outcomes of the collaborations.

Apply online HERE 
Deadline 11 August 2023

Please tell us some basic information about you and your practice. We will take types of practice, stages in careers and research interests. into consideration when pairing you up, but please note some of the most fruitful pairings in previous Exchanges have come from artists with diverse starting points who bring different perspectives to each other’s work.

The Extra Ordinary Exchange builds upon The Exchange (2021) and The Exchange 2 (2022). In these previous iterations of the project 60 artists were paired together from different art organisations, including Eastside Projects (EOP, Birmingham), CAMP (Plymouth), Castlefield Gallery Associates (Manchester), The NewBridge Project (Newcastle), Primary (Nottingham), Spike Associates (Bristol), G39 (Cardiff) and Turf Projects (Croydon). Artists who participated valued the connection with another peer and the opportunity to support and think alongside another person. Although there was no expectation of a formal outcome most artists did make together, producing everything from videos, online video games and sacred knotting installations to performances and walking trails. There were a variety of responses, connections, outcomes and conversations with some artists being in touch only during the Exchange and others who continued to talk and collaborate long beyond.