Following a call-out in December for Merseyside artists to submit work as part of their 2021 Season, today Unity are delighted to announce the first 12 artists supported by their Open Call Programme. Designed to help artists survive and comeback stronger than ever after a year of restricted income streams and creative outlets, those featured in Unity’s Open Call Programme will receive a bursary of up to £1250 alongside creative, production and welfare support.
The 12 artists announced today represent the breadth and talent of Liverpool’s creative community with work from a wide-range of people and practices including dance, comedy, theatre, digital installation, online performance, audio-plays and young-people’s outreach.
The line-up includes Amina Atiq’s Scouse Pilgrimage, an online and live exploration of Liverpool’s Yemeni community and the cities relationship with immigration, award-winning comedian Sian Davies’ new show About Time, Out of Attic’s feminist production That’s What She Said, new productions from Transcend Theatre, Rickety Fidgets, Alice Bunker-Whitney, Victoria Oxley, Leianna Boodaghian and One September, All Things Considered’s The Storm Shepheard – a new, immersive audio/visual performance for 7-12 year olds and their carers, and Playgrounds in a Pandemic – a new online and live performance from Sarah Bailey connecting school children across three countries.
Alongside the Open Call Programme, Unity also announces Gold Maria Akanbi as the recipient of their £3000 Online Commission for a D/deaf, disabled or neurodivergent artist to create a new piece of online work from home. Gold Maria Akanbi is a bisexual, neurodiverse British-Nigerian artist whose work focuses on topics such as sexual feminism, the decolonisation of The Black (disabled) Body, epigenetic trauma and healing. In this new commission from Unity, Gold will create a brand-new piece of online dance exploring the minds of disabled people during COVID-19.
Finally, together with this announcement Unity have also launched a Crowdfunder page to support more Liverpool artists. With over 16 times the number of applicants for the Open Call to places available, the need from artists for financial and creative support has never been stronger, particularly with so many ineligible for the government income support scheme. Through this Crowdfunder Unity hope to say yes to a further 10 Open Call applications and provide even more Liverpool artists with income and opportunity. You can find out more about the Crowdfunder and where donations go here.
Full details of the Open Call Programme, including additional artists supported thanks to funds raised through the Crowdfunder, will be announced in early April alongside Unity’s full 2021 Season.
For the Crowdfunder: Help Support Liverpool’s Creative Community – a Film and Theatre crowdfunding project in Liverpool by Unity, Liverpool (crowdfunder.co.uk)
Categories: News
