The Ropes is a new Pari program that champions your professional development and creative well-being. We want to connect you with other artists, guide you in giving and receiving feedback on work in progress, and support your next steps as a creative practitioner. Across five weekly online sessions, a diverse group of community leaders and industry professionals will give talks and guide discussions to show you the ropes of being an artist.

This program is for early-career artists who live in Greater Western Sydney in the following LGAs: Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Camden, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Hawkesbury, Hills Shire, Liverpool, Parramatta, Penrith and Wollondilly. This includes parts of unceded Darug, Dharawal, Darkinjung, Gundungurra and Eora Country.

You could be a current art student or recent graduate, or someone who hasn’t been to art school but is starting out in your professional art practice, whatever that looks like - we’re open to all kinds of practices. This doesn’t mean you have to quit your day job or side hustle(s). We all have ‘em.

We have space for 15 participants, and each participant will be paid $500 to enable and acknowledge their time and contribution.


The deadline for applications has been extended to 11.59pm AEDT Sunday 5 December 2021.
We’ll let you know if you’ve been selected by mid December 2021.

The Ropes will take place online on Tuesday evenings 6–8pm from 18 Jan–15 Feb 2022. If selected, you will need to be available to attend each session.

Applications Closed.

View the in depth application information document.


Requirements

If selected, you’ll need:

  • A stable internet connection, and access to a computer with camera and microphone
  • To take part in group discussion, including giving/receiving constructive criticism (with guidance and facilitation from the Pari team and invited experts)
  • Some artwork in progress to share with the group
  • To be 18 years or older by the end of 2021
  • To live in Greater Western Sydney (in the following LGAs: Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Camden, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Hawkesbury, Hills Shire, Liverpool, Parramatta, Penrith and Wollondilly)

Accessibility

We will take a 5 min break halfway through each 2-hr session, and participants are welcome to take time as required during sessions to tap out, take a breath, a toilet break, etc. Other access needs can be discussed and organised on request, eg Auslan interpretation, captioning, audio descriptions. There is space to start this convo in the application form.


City of Parramatta logo
This project has been supported through a City of Parramatta Council Community Grant.