The Freedom and Culture Programme

Freedom and Culture is a collaboration between Cultural Brokers (Director Baroness Lola Young) and Alchemy Anew (Director Dr Nima Poovaya Smith).  It comprises a programme of events that marks 2007 – the bicentenary of the parliamentary abolition of the slave trade in the British colonies.  One of the most significant charters for human liberty in the last two hundred years, the passing of the Act that abolished the slave trade will be commemorated in various formats across the country, and internationally. 

 

The Freedom and Culture programme has three major components.

 

1. A national programme of Freedom and Culture Partners’ commissions taking place throughout 2007 across England;
2. A web-based Freedom and Culture Learning Programme with downloadable components for use in a range of formal and informal educational contexts;
3. A Freedom and Culture International Creative Forum, hosted at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank Centre, London in November 2007;

 

We would like to commission a poet/spoken word performance artist to participate in the Freedom and Culture programme as follows:

• Writing a poem/performance piece to be performed at the culminating Freedom and Culture event, the International Creative Forum, on Saturday 10 November 2007 at the South Bank Centre;
• Placing the poem/performance piece in a form appropriate for the learning resource on the Freedom and Culture website;
• Publishing the poem/performance piece in the Freedom and Culture emailer, together with a short, explanatory essay;
• Possibly publishing the poem/performance piece in an appropriate format for a special Freedom and Culture edition of the journal Moving Worlds;

 

We are keen to commission a writer/performer at the beginning of their career. For the Freedom and Culture national programme, we have targeted 5 areas in England: Yorkshire, London, the South West, the North West and the East Midlands and we very much wish to encourage submissions from writers/performance artists with strong connections to those regions.

 

To express an interest in being considered for this commission, please submit the following:

1. Up to 5 examples of previous, relevant work;
2. A DVD of one of your performances – clearly labelled with name and contact details – if available;
3. Website details, if applicable;
4. A brief (no more than 250 words) outline of how you would approach the subject if commissioned;

 

 

Please send the material requested to:

 

Lola Young

Cultural Brokers

Building D, Unit 208

The Chocolate Factory

5 Clarendon Road

London N22 6XJ

 

Or email to younglo@parliament.uk

 

Proposals must be submitted no later than midday 6 July 2007.

 

After considering all the applications, we will invite shortlisted candidates to discuss their proposal further.

 

The artist selected will receive a fee of £1500 (+ VAT where applicable)

 

Selection criteria

1. We are looking for imaginative works that convey the importance of the bicentenary and the issues it raises;
2. We will be looking for writers who think beyond the well-known imagery relating to the slave trade, such as enslaved Africans in chains or packed tightly on ships;
3. The poem/performance must be memorable and original;

For further information on the Freedom and Culture programme, please visit our website: www.freedomandculture.co.uk