Artist Development Program: Proposal Writing with Zoe Theodore

Join us on Saturday, the 6th of June, from 2—4 pm, for a workshop on proposal writing from Zoe Theodore.

This 3-hour workshop at Firstdraft explores application writing as a creative and critical practice rather than a bureaucratic exercise. Designed for emerging artists applying for open calls, funding, residencies, and professional opportunities, the session focuses on analysing institutional language, responding to selection criteria in plain language, and building a personal lexicon of practice to draw from across applications.

Beginning with building budgets rather than concepts, participants will use project costs, labour, materials, and logistics as a way to clarify what a project actually is before translating it into proposal language. Through spoken exercises, collaborative reading, and playful writing methods including forms of cento poetry, participants will experiment with how application language is constructed, borrowed, and repeated, while exploring ways to both use and unsettle institutional language for their own ends.

Participants are asked to bring an artist statement, project description, or draft application for group discussion and feedback. The workshop also reflects on the limitations of relying on AI-generated text, encouraging participants to develop language grounded in their own thinking, speech patterns, and working processes.

ZOE THEODORE is a curator and arts writer working on Gadigal Country. She is currently Curator, Programs at Artspace, Sydney.

Zoe regularly works directly with artists to realise new commissions, exhibitions and public programs for museums, galleries and organisations including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, the Immigration Museum, Melbourne, Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne, BUS Projects, and the Biennale of Sydney. She was the Project Coordinator and Associate Researcher on the ARC-supported Precarious Movements: Choreography and the Museum project from 2021-2024.

She is a current PhD candidate at the University of New South Wales and previously held roles at Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne, the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne, MoMA PS1, New York, and was Co-Director of Firstdraft, Sydney (2022–24).

Alongside her curatorial practice, Zoe has contributed writing to un Magazine, Runway Journal, Artist Profile, and Art & Australia, as well as to publications by the National Gallery of Victoria and Monash University Museum of Art.

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Application and exhibition material boxes in the Firstdraft Archive, 2026.

Firstdraft’s Artist Development Program is a structured professional development program providing early-career artists with practical skills, industry knowledge, and mentorship to navigate and sustain their artistic careers within Sydney’s creative sector.

Workshop tickets are $20.00. if you are experiencing financial hardship please contact our team for a no questions asked, financial assistance ticket.

The Artist Development Program is supported by the City of Sydney.

venue accessibility information:

Getting Here

• Gallery entry is on the ground floor via Haig Lane.

• There is a grey wall with Firstdraft painted on it which you can see from the entry of the lane.

• Train/Metro:

  • St James is the closest station.

  • Town Hall and Martin Place are also within 15 minutes walking distance.

  • Gadigal Metro station via Park St within 10 minutes walking distance.

  Bus:

  • The closet bus stop is on Riley Street - the 461X bus route ends here.

  • The William St near College Cr bus stop is also close with 311, 324, 325, 333, 333N, 461, 501, 506 busses stopping here.

  
  Pedestrians and Cyclists

  • Firstdraft is accessible for pedestrians and cyclists via Haig Lane

  • The footpaths surrounding the area are sloped and sometimes uneven

  • There is a wide 3m gate at the entrance

  • Bicycles can be parked next to the gallery gate

  Private car and motorcycle

  • Private car and motorcycle users can park in nearby car parks, and on-street.

  • On-street parking is limited during business hours due to the busy area, but spaces are usually available.

General information

• Gender-neutral bathrooms are provided. These are single-stall, with sanitary bins.

• Assistance animals are welcome, and drinking water is available.

• Our building is climate controlled, depending on the artwork being shown.

Access Parking

• The closest car park with Mobility Parking (MPS) is Sofitel Sydney Wentworth Car Park at 61-101 Phillip Street, Sydney. More info about that carpark here.

 Access Information

• Inside the galleries will be optimal white lighting.

• The gate to the Firstdraft courtyard is 3 metres wide.

• Gallery 1 and 2 are upstairs.

• Gallery 3 is downstairs and entered through the courtyard, via a ramp. The entry is 110cm wide.

• Gallery 4 is downstairs and entered via a ramp. The entry is 86cm wide.

• The staircase has 17 concrete steps.

• There is one gender neutral bathroom located on the ground floor. The entry is 74cm wide.

• Please get in touch if you would like to meet someone one-to-one in advance, or turn up early to our events for an easier entry

• Firstdraft is in a high pollen area, it may be useful to check the Pollen index here.

• We welcome the use of safety/particulate masks for those that wish/need to use them.