Applications for the 2021 Anywhere Festival are now open
Expressions of Interest for the 2021 Anywhere Festival are now open for performers and presenters.
Welcoming all genres of performance – from theatre to dance, comedy to circus, and poetry to walking tours – applications are open from 16 November to 6 December 2020.
Coming to Queensland in May 2021, the Anywhere Festival is a two and a half week event that showcases theatre, arts and music across non-traditional performance spaces. That is, the festival aims to discover new areas for performing, like backyards, driveways, cafes, mazes and so on.
As part of the Anywhere Festival, participants can access rent-free locations and bring their own work to the festivals partnered venues – including Sideshow West End, Arcana (Moorooka), University of Queensland, Elements Collective Cupo/Concept (Fortitude Valley) and Suncentral Maroochydore with other venues to be announced. CEO and Artistic Director, Paul Osuch, commented on the opportunities it provides for creatives.
“The Anywhere Festival provides a way for emerging and established artists to take creative risks without the financial risks that come with booking a venue, hiring all the gear and finding the money to pay performers after everyone else is paid,” Osuch said.
“Our spaces are rent-free or negligible, our audiences and communities discover performances and places in new ways and most vitally of all, the festival takes performance out of theatre silos and puts them in the community where people live and work, which is where live performances and storytelling needs to be.”
Providing over $8k of support to the shows featuring in its festival, the festival is popular with emerging and established artists wanting to take creative risks without the financial burden. In 2021, Anywhere Festival will work with First Nationa people to lead a creative development workshop series on storytelling and place for performance makers.
In response to COVID-19, the festival will also run an online program that is open to performances from anywhere around the world, and which will connect with international festivals to reach their local audiences. Osuch commented that the Festival aims to help all performers and everyone is welcome.
“My biggest tip is to not be afraid to give us a call,” Osuch said.
“We can help guide an idea, suggest potential places and identify what is possible even if you’re not sure. That’s what it’s all about for us – working with performance makers to realise their ambitions and help find an audience to take on the journey.”
Born out of the need to present performances when spaces weren’t available, the Anywhere Festival has been running for 10 years.
Applications are open for Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Noosa, Moreton Bay region and for the first time in 2021, Ipswich. Expressions of interest close on 6 December 2020 and all applicants will be notified by 21 December 2020. From there, workshops will be held over January and February. The Festival Program will be revealed 22 March 2021, with the festival to take place from 6-23 May 2021.
Intrastate and interstate artist are encouraged to apply.
To apply for the 2021 Anywhere Festival, visit their website.
