Suffolk Coast & Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Sustainable Development Fund supported video project based at Blythburgh Church, Suffolk
Please note, this opportunity is currently only open to W&BA members. Membership is £15 a year, providing many benefits for working artists. It can be purchased via our membership page.
Background
A series of videos will be commissioned by Waveney & Blyth Arts (W&BA) and created by an Ecologist, Artist(s) and Poet taking inspiration from the landscape and species found at the Blythburgh Holy Trinity Church site in Suffolk. The aim of the video series is to creatively engage people within the natural landscape, which is also the organisational aim of Waveney & Blyth Arts.
The project is part of our ‘Bugs & Blossoms’ programme of events, taking a creative look at biodiversity in our patch. See https://waveneyandblytharts.com/bioblitz-arts-may-2020/ for a blog on the project and sample poem from our Vice Chair, Melinda Appleby.
The videos will encourage participants to take notice of nature, learn more about the Blythburgh Church site and surrounding areas in the AONB and encourage (safe) visits.
Outline
We are seeking a Poet to record an on-site video for families and adults.
Editing of this video will be done in-house and will not be the responsibility of the Poet. The Poet will provide multiple clips or a longer video for editing. The video will either be edited as one longer piece, or cropped into bite-sized videos, which cover a series of prompts, approaches or methods of taking inspiration from the Blythburgh Church site and surrounding areas to create original poetry. The video will be edited down to c. 20 minutes, so please supply adequate filmed material to work from.
The workshop video will be published on the W&BA YouTube, website and across our social media sites.
The successful poet will be paid a commission of £100 for recording the video inclusive of prep time. There is an additional budget for materials and for travel at £0.25p per mile for research visits to the site, if required – these will need to be pre-agreed with W&BA prior to claiming.
We ask that the selected Poet have the following:
- Access to a suitable video recording device to record on-site
- Poetry facilitating skills with a clear and engaging communication approach
- Take into consideration the limited materials that people will have access to at home to take part – keep it simple but imaginative
- Create a poetry workshop with easy to follow approaches which will respond to the Blythburgh Holy Trinity Church and surrounding landscape
- Be familiar with the Suffolk Coast AONB area
The selected artists will be provided with support to work up a suitable plan with resources from Suffolk Coast AONB.
Timeline
- Deadline for proposals: Friday 14th August at 5pm
- Poet notified of selection and arrange an informal phone/Zoom meeting to discuss project plan: 17th – 19th August (tbc)
- Plan presented to W&BA committee for confirmation: 20th – 21st August
- Filming by Poet: 22nd August – 4th September
- Deadline for filmed material: Friday 4th September at 5pm
- Broadcast via W&BA: w/c 14th September (tbc)
Submit an application
Applications are welcome from professional and non-professional poets but you must be a member of W&BA to be eligible.
We particularly welcome applications from under-represented groups in the arts, including people with disabilities, Black and Minority Ethnic groups and those identifying as LGBTQ+, or other protected characteristics.
To apply, please submit a written proposal (up to 400 words) or a video proposal (maximum 3 minutes).
Please outline in your application:
- Your relevant experience – poetry engagement or workshops; family and intergeneration projects; writing projects inspired by place, nature and environment
- Your workshop idea – how you will make this clear, accessible and enjoyable for people to take part in
- If you are an existing member of W&BA, Suffolk Poetry society or other local poetry based in Norfolk/Suffolk
We would also welcome a short overview of your work and a CV.
Applications should be emailed to info@waveneyandblytharts.com.
The deadline for this opportunity is Friday 14th August at 5pm. Please make sure you can meet the dates outlined in the timeline above.
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash