This opportunity is for deaf and hard of hearing emerging artists, new collaborations, and established practitioners wanting to work outdoors, try out new ideas, or translate existing work to an outdoor space.
Applications are accepted from artists around the UK!
The priority is to develop a new piece for a first showing at Basingstoke Festival with the addition of leading a workshop in a local school with deaf and hard of hearing children.
This will be an opportunity to network and get your work seen by outdoor arts promoters. Pending a successful application for funding, this may develop into a week-long residency to make a participatory element to your work or curtain raiser.
The work should be family-friendly, accessible, and suitable for daytime performances. The piece can include any artform or a combination of styles. Previous work performed at the festival has included dance, theatre, circus, physical theatre, digital, cabaret, and music.
Commission Amount: £3500
Inclusive Fee for Workshop & Performance Days: £300 per day per performer
Maximum of 2 performers per commission
Deaf Explorer CIC can support access costs throughout the commission.
Workshop & Performance Date Options – 1 weekend slot per commission:
Friday 21st June – Sunday 23rd June
Friday 28th June – Sunday 30th June
Friday 5th July – Sunday 7th July
Ideally workshops would take place on the Friday with a minimum of two performances per day across a Saturday and Sunday.
There will be an opportunity for questions and feedback from the audience facilitated by Deaf Explorer and Basingstoke Festival.
How to apply: Complete this short Google Form – https://forms.gle/bef33fUt8fW4GS197
Responses can be submitted in BSL/Video Format. Please send this to contact@deafexplorer.com or WhatsApp +44 7399 784613.
If you’d like to have a chat before you submit your proposal, please email contact@deafexplorer.com to arrange a meeting. There will also be an opportunity to discuss your ideas with Deaf Explorer and Basingstoke after you have submitted the form.
Deadline to apply: Monday 13th May 2024
Basingstoke Festival is a family-friendly free outdoor arts festival. From music and dance, visual art and street theatre, the festival encourages both residents of Basingstoke and visitors to the borough to be more curious about the arts, engaging those who would not normally think they were interested in cultural experiences. With the banner theme of ‘Art in Unusual Places’, we aim to surprise and delight with high-quality arts encounters and meaningful participatory events during the three weekends of the festival, each year in June and July across Basingstoke town centre and the wider borough.
Basingstoke Festival champions new work created specifically for local audiences and supports the development of new art. The festival is produced by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.
To get a flavour, you can see some highlights from last year’s festival and visit the Basingstoke Festival site.Deaf Explorer bridges the cultural sector with the Deaf community, with a genuine commitment to access and inclusion. We strive to develop artistic work that is innovative and representative of the ambitions that Deaf artists have now.
Deaf Explorer 