Arts opportunities

Arts opportunities

* Wanted: poems and short prose on the tragedy of refugee deaths in the Channel.

* If you are a refugee, immigrant or asylum-seeking writer interested in exploring your own poetry and prose, Exiled Writers Ink offers classes.

* The UK's biggest playwriting award is back, with productions, commissions and cash awards to be won. Open for entries until 5pm, 16 March. Details here.

* The Counterpoints Creators Awards is offering 10 creators £250 each for original, vertical videos (personal ,poetic, cinematic or satirical, up to 2 minutes) that offer fresh, self-authored perspectives by 28 February.

* the other side of hope: journeys in refugee and immigrant literature invites submissions for its next issue, “other tongue, mother tongue.” It seeks poetry by migrants in any language except English. Guidelines.
* The Young Playwrights Award is a free, open-access competition for any teenager in the UK interested in writing a play. Entries are open until 22 April.

* The Royal Court Theatre’s Writers’ Card aims to help playwrights through mentoring, networking, funding opportunities, events, subsidised meals and free script printing.

* UK-based and aged 18-25? The Grierson DocLab: New Entrants training initiative is providing up to 12 individuals with the chance to thrive in factual TV and documentary-making. Deadline: 17 February.

* P21 Gallery & Az Theatre invite submissions for an upcoming exhibition and activities programme on artistic responses to genocide: all media, any genocide.

* The £15,000 Footnote x Counterpoints Prize is open for fiction writers from refugee and migrant backgrounds. Deadline 13 February. The prize also includes a publishing deal.

* The Climate Migration Collaborative is looking for contributors to its
Climate Migration Storytelling initiative.

* Comedian Munya Chawawa has launched Black Boys Theatre Club “to give young men access to a world of theatre”.

* Women writers, directors, performers, musicians and visual artists are invited to submit projects for the Playground Theatre’s planned Women’s Voices: A Celebration.

* The BFI is to invest £150m over the next three years under six headings: audiences, education & heritage, filmmaking & talent development, skills & workforce development, international, and insight & industry.

* New Diorama Theatre is distributing grants of £500 to migrant theatre makers to ease the burden of visa, legal, and other bureaucratic costs affecting migrants navigating UK immigration. 

* Good Chance, formed in the Calais Jungle refugee camp, is launching Stage Door 10,  a national programme placing 10 creatives from refugee backgrounds in paid roles across 10 UK theatres and arts organisations.

* Theatro Technis and Hyphen Artist Collective’s offer free in-person & online writing sessions + community chats for hyphenated & global majority creatives.

* Artist Surgeries at the Gate Theatre:  on the second Thursday of every month.

* As Yet Unscene, year-round initiative to find and develop scripts in early stages of development. It includes workshops, rehearsed readings and fully-rehearsed performances of longer extracts. Details here

* The Cockpit Theatre offers classes, workshops, readings, advice sessions, support & performance opportunities.

* Papatango hopes its new Playwrights’ Studio will be a home for playwrights of all levels of experience. Its advantages include digital workshops, lone-to-one,  and thousands of pounds in open-access funding.

* Riverside Studios is offering a regular drop-in playwriting group:  “Whether you’re working on a script and want creative inspiration, you're intrigued by the idea of writing a play, or simply want a creative outlet, these monthly meet-ups are informal, fun and open to everyone.” It has also launched songwriting sessions.

Thanks to volunteer Daniel Nelson (editor of Eventslondon.org) for compiling this list.