This open call is now closed
Bradford Producing Hub presents, Empowered – a brand new, wide-spanning programme of projects, workshops and events focusing on artist and ally empowerment, training and development.
Empowered: Black and Global Majority* Artists is part of a wider series focussing on supporting, responding to the needs of, and ultimately empowering marginalised artists; beginning with a focus on Black and Global Majority* artists, and later supporting other marginalised artists including LGBTQIA+, deaf and disabled, and working and underclass.
The work created during the marginalised artists series will inform our Empowered: Make the Change allyship conference in spring 2023. It will also inform the Artists Charter we are developing; an empowerment and accountability tool for the arts and cultural sector and the freelancers, artists and staff who make it.
Meet the facilitator
Adam Lowe is a poet, publisher, magazine editor and drag performer based in Manchester. He is of St Kitts, Irish and British heritage and grew up in Leeds. Lowe writes about queerness, disability, and mixed heritage/black British experiences. He performs as drag persona Beyonce Holes. Adam is the founding publisher at Dog Horn Publishing which publishes poetry by LGBTQ+ writers, and editor-in-chief of Vada Magazine, a magazine for LGBTQ+ readers. He is the UK’s LGBT History Month Poet Laureate and was the Olympic poet for Yorkshire in 2012. He currently teaches at the University of Leeds and is a tutor for The Poetry School.
About the programme
The Empowered: Black and Global Majority* Artists is a free programme will take place across 2 half-day, and 1 full-day sessions.
The project aims to create a safe space to share experiences, hopes and wishes for the industry, while acknowledging specific challenges and opportunities for Black and Global Majority Artists.
We aim for these sessions to connect, spark creativity and inspiration, and collect insights that will inform our ‘Make the Change’ allyship conference next year. This event is part of our mission to develop and sustain a strong and inclusive live-arts sector in Bradford and beyond.
Is this for me?
Bradford Producing Hub are seeking 15 established or aspiring artistic leaders from Black and Global Majority* backgrounds.
Participants will be:
- Black and Global Majority* identifying artists and creatives
- From Bradford, Yorkshire or the North (Bradford applicants will be prioritised)
- Have some experience of the arts industry with an ambition to become a future creative leader
- Be engaged and interested in productive conversations about their identity, and receive training to support their future ambitions in creating a more inclusive industry
- Interested in collaboration, connecting with, and supporting other Black and Global Majority* artists both locally and on a bigger scale
What we provide
The 15 selected artists will be eligible for bursaries of up to £75, plus access and travel costs to participate in each of the three sessions, see below for more information. Meals will also be provided for the in-person sessions.
Following this series, we hope our other events as part of our Empowered programme, such as our Series of Care, Make The Change allyship event, Artists Charter and future Bradford Producing Hub socials will provide continuing nurturement of marginalised artists.
Applications are now open, and close on Monday 7 November 2022.
Programme sessions
Applicants are ideally expected to attend all 3 sessions. These events will be run by experienced facilitators working in keeping the live arts industry accountable for practising anti-racism as well as being practising artists themselves.
Session 1: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: What we need from the industry.
Date: Friday 25 November, 2022
Time: 10am – 2pm
Venue: Kala Sangam, Bradford
This session will find productive ways to hold space for collective and individual lived experiences, with a focus on how this discussion can be distilled and put to use in informing allies on the reality of our lived experiences and ways to be more lucid and accountable when implementing anti-racism in their programming, artist development, and general interactions with Black and Global Majority* Artists.
The session will also hold space to dream – what would our ideal artistic work look like? Who would be leading and making? What art would be made? How can we reach those goals collectively and individually? This session will be a space to collaborate, brainstorm, reflect, and move forward together.
Session 2: Creating Community: how we nurture the creativity of ourselves and others
Date: Friday 2 December, 2022
Time: 10am – 2pm
Venue: Kala Sangam, Bradford
This session will focus on how we can build each other up as artists and support each other, as well as working out the goals, paths and trajectories we envision for our individual careers and places in the industry overall.
Session 3: Inspo – Hear from Leading Artists
Date: Friday 9 December, 2022
Time: 10am – 6pm
Venue: Online
This full-day online event will consist of sessions, talks and Q&A’s with leading Black and Global Majority* artists from across the live arts sector, working in a range of artforms and from a range of backgrounds.
*What do we mean by 'Global Majority'?
Global Majority is a collective term that refers to those who make up 80% of the world’s population. By ‘global majority’ we refer to; African or Caribbean heritage, South Asian heritage, East Asian heritage, West Asian heritage, Central Asian heritage, South East Asian heritage, East Asian and South East Asian heritage, Middle East and North African heritage, and those who have experienced racism. By the term ‘those who have experience racism’, we are referring to individuals who have experience discrimination based on the colour of their skin, race and/or their culture.
Bursaries, access and travel costs
We can provide bursaries, access and travel costs to enable you to attend this programme. Please let us know what you need when completing your application form.
Bursaries are a contribution towards your time to help you attend when you might otherwise be working. You can claim up to £75 per day.
Access costs are for additional costs you may have to pay to enable you to attend; things like disability support, translation, or childcare.
Travel costs are to help you with the costs of travel to our events using public transport.
We do not means-test or ask you to prove that you need this financial support, but we need to agree in advance what costs we will cover (wherever possible), and will ask you to provide receipts to claim costs back from us. We can reimburse your travel costs for the sessions on standard class public transport (bus or train) – you will need to provide us with a receipt, so please keep hold of this. If you need to take a taxi, please get in touch with us as we’ll need to approve this in advance.
Contact us
If you have any questions, or would like to discuss your application before applying, please email us at hello@bdproducinghub.co.uk
Application questions
To help you prepare for your application, here are some of the questions we ask in the form:
- Do you need help towards any costs to attend these events, such as travel, caring or other access costs?
We have bursaries of up to £75 available, in addition to funds to cover travel and other access costs.
Please let us know how much you would roughly need to attend the 2 in-person sessions in Bradford, plus the online session. - Do you have any other access needs we need to consider so that you can attend the events?
The following answers can be submitted via the form either directly, or by uploading a video/audio recording. If you prefer to answer these questions via video or audio, please have this file ready to upload when completing the form.
- In under 500 words / 2 minutes, please tell us:
What would you offer by being part of the Empowered: Black and Global Majority Artists group?
What would you gain by being part of it?Feel free to tell us about your experience, or the experience you wish to gain and what interests you about this programme
