Front & Centre is open to women and non-binary people with disability or who are d/Deaf, or who have a chronic illness or mental health condition, and are living in NSW, the ACT or VIC (2022). 

From 2023, the program will be national, and you must be an Australian citizen or an Australian permanent resident to apply.

First Nations people and people from culturally linguistic backgrounds, older people and people in regional and remote areas are encouraged to apply.  

The Front & Centre Program is designed to be delivered online, to maximise access and inclusion in the program. 

The Program runs from February to November each year. 

The Program includes:

• a comprehensive onboarding program in February/March
• eight one-to-one coaching sessions with head coach, Judith Bowtell
• five webinars on aspects of leadership, including self-care and financial wellbeing
• a "buddy" system for peer support
• 12 months access to Albany Lane's online DIY Career and Self Compassion Hub programs 
• Online support through a private Facebook community
• Opportunity to contribute to the evaluation of the program by The Patternmakers
• LIVE Graduation event (subject to public health orders), with travel and accommodation provided by the Program and our partners.
• Membership of the Front & Centre alumni,connecting you to growing network of arts leaders. 

The Front & Centre Program runs from February to November, and is designed to be flexible and accessible for as many people as possible, and work within your regular commitments.

If you have access needs, please let us know and we will do our best to work with you to ensure that you can participate fully in the Program. 

The schedule for the Program will be available at the time you apply for the program.  You will usually (except February) have 1 to 2.5 hours of contact learning per month. 

Outside the scheduled sessions, we suggest you allow at  least one hour a week for self-reflection, research, and other activities arising from your coaching sessions and to progress your  vision and goals. 

 Onboarding

There is a comprehensive onboarding session in February/March, consisting of 5 x online workshops of 90 minutes each. 

Group Webinars

Between March and September, participants need to attend one x 90 minute webinar each month (approximately).  

Group webinars are ususally scheduled from 2.00pm to 3.30pm, Thursday afternoons, and are usually  in the first week of the month.  

If you cannot attend any group sessions, the sessions will be recorded and available for all participants. 

One-to-one Coaching

You need to complete 8 x 60 minute coaching sessions with Judith Bowtell, Front & Centre's Program Director and Head Coach. 

You can book your sessions online at your convenience, via the Calendly system.

Buddy and Peer Support

You may want to make time in your schedule to de-brief and catch up with your buddy (or buddies) each month.

And while it is not compulsory, being involved in the Facebook Group does increase your connection with your peers.

Graduation

The Front & Centre Graduation is in November each year, and where possible it will be a LIVE event, and a chance for the community to meet with you and acknowledge your achievement.

Travel and Accommodation will be covered by the Program and our partners, and we will work with you to make this as comfortable as possible for you.

We suggest you allow at least half-a-day to get the most out of the event, with extra time for travel.

Evaluation

The final stage of the Program will be your involvement in Evaluation of the program.  This will be at least a survey – and in some years may include focus groups or interviews as well. 

We will work with you to develop these processes, with our independent evaluators, The Patternmakers.

Applications to Front & Centre will open in August/September each year.  They will be open for at least four weeks.

Selection will be based on the following criteria:   

• Commitment to own development as an artist, creative, arts or cultural worker   
• Community an involvement in activities outside of own creative practise or organisation   
• Awareness of issues affecting the arts sector in NSW/VIC and Australia   
• Coach-ability and willingness to take feedback and self-reflect, and openness to external challenges   
• Diversity an understanding of the importance of diversity in sustainability of arts culture, barriers to representation and one’s own place within the arts and cultural sector.   

See the Information Session Video and PDF for more information.

Applicants will be asked to outline an idea for a small project that you would like to undertake throughout 2022, that will demonstrate your leadership potential.

You will have further opportunities to change or refine this project throughout the Front & Centre program.     

Your project outline should include:   

• How will you be able to express yourself as a leader through the project?   
• What group or community will it benefit, serve, or support?   
• What will be the impact or legacy of the project in that group or community?   

It’s important to note that you may or may not complete the project during the Front & Centre program. The size, scale and even the completion of your project is not essential to you, as a developing leader, getting the benefits of the program.     

The project is to be used as a learning opportunity, and to allow you to develop new ways of working that are more supportive of your overall wellbeing and lifegoals AND more accessible and sustainable for you to reach your goals.

Accessible Arts will not be providing resources or funding for any of the projects during the Front & Centre program.   

 The EOI can be completed as a written document, or in any other form you want.  That can include audio and video.