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The work samples your provide are the most important part of your application. They demonstrate to the panelists the unique aspects of your creative practice and original artistic voice. We’ve compiled some tips and resources to follow as you prepare the materials for your Spark Award application:
* Your samples should represent what you consider to be your best and most compelling original work to date.
* Choose samples that demonstrate your original work: avoid including examples in which you are interpreting, translating, or performing the work of others.
* Provide samples of work to which you have the rights.
* When choosing the cue points/excerpts, consider what is the most engaging point of the piece/s: bring the reviewers into the most compelling moments within the first seconds of viewing/ reading. This is not necessarily the start or end of a piece. When excerpting a longer work, it’s important to provide contextual information in the ‘work sample description’ field.
* Submit high quality documentation –the audio is clear, the picture is stable and in focus, etc. Reviewers will most commonly be viewing your samples on personal computers.
* Test your video/audio links prior to submitting your application to ensure they are not broken.
* Provide passwords so reviewers can access your samples. There is a field in the application that prompts you to enter any password.
* If you choose to share a Google folder or Dropbox, ensure that the are accessible to 'anyone with a link' for the duration of the application process (until November 2025).
* Ask a friend or colleague who is familiar with your practice for feedback on which work samples you’re submitting.
* Make use of the ‘Work sample description’ field to provide essential information and context for it. Do not assume reviewers recognize the venue, script, actors, etc. . Do not paste links to more information in this space.
* The work samples you provide should confirm and strengthen the story you are relaying about you as an artist in the application. They should relate directly to what you’ve discussed in the bio, artist statement, narrative questions, and CV.
* If you are a multi-disciplinary artist, only provide work samples within the eligible discipline categories you are applying for this year.
* Read the Spark work sample requirements carefully in the guidelines and/or application: We require 3 samples from 3 different bodies of work, 2 of them should be of publicly shared or distributed work from the last decade and the third a recent or in-progress work from the last 3 years. For literary artists: 3 samples = 30 pages total of prose or 15 pages of poetry. For media artists: 3 samples = 15 minutes total of video/audio or30 pages of script. A combination of script/text and media: 3 samples=20 pages total and up to 5 minutes of video/audio or 10 pages total and up to 10 minutes of video/audio.
* A “publicly shared” or “publicly distributed” body of work for media artists includes work shared at presenting venues or organizations, film festivals, or online platforms with a juried selection process; and for literary artists: work published on platforms and in publications that have a critical review process. If a writer or media artist is self-published/ self-presented, they must be able to demonstrate ongoing reader/viewer engagement with their work.
Read the information on the Spark Award page and preview the application in the guidelines linked on the website.
