Performance Programme
Visual Arts Programme
Performance Programme
Companies from across Europe can apply to perform at BE FESTIVAL. You can apply either with a finished show or with a piece that is still in development. Performances at BE can be no longer than 30 minutes, so some pieces may need to be adapted. The ethos of the festival is to cross borders, so we will programme daring and imaginative work that can reach audiences of all linguistic backgrounds.
Selected companies will be provided with accommodation, meals, transport in Birmingham, workshops, feedback and opportunities for professional development. A jury of theatre and dance professionals will award 5 main prizes at BE FESTIVAL. One company will be awarded £1500, a rehearsal residency and a full production of their work in Birmingham the following year. Another company will be supported on a European tour. 3 Further companies will be supported on a UK tour.
Of the 15 companies who performed at BE 2011, 10 have been programmed at other venues and festivals since – including London International Mime Festival, the Barbican, the South Bank Centre, the Lowry, Leeds Carriageworks, Bilbao ACT Festival, Sarajevo MESS Festival and Fabrica Movimentos in Porto.
We do not pay a fee or fund travel to Birmingham, but we can advise you in finding funding.
To apply, you will need to send a video of your work in rehearsal or performance (ideally as a link) and a fully-completed application form.
Visual Arts Programme
We do not open a call in 2012. Applications for BE FESTIVAL 2013 will open at the end of 2012. You can sign up to our newsletter to recieve updates about the apllication process and other news.
The festival’s visual arts programme will incorporate the work of Midlands-based and international artists. With this purpose we open a bi-annual call for:
Midlands-based visual artists from different disciplines to present work at AE Harris during the festival. The three artists whose work best embodies the festival’s ethos will be selected.
A Europe-based artist to carry out a residency at the festival which takes inspiration from the event, with particular focus on BE-mix, and in response develops a project during the year that is presented at the next festival.
We are open to new ideas and love to be surprised, and we would like to receive proposals from:
- Installation artists who want to create an installation that explores the space of the AE Harris factory, and that takes the public on a journey that questions the spatial and conceptual borders between audience and performance.
- Performance artists who want to develop a project/workshop with community participants, to be presented during the festival.