UK City of Culture is a competition run by the Department of Culture Media and Sport every four years. Previous winners are Derry/Londonderry in 2013 and Hull who have their year in 2017.Coventry City of Culture Trustis now looking for exciting, creative and ambitious ideas that could form part of a Coventry UK City of Culture programme in 2021.
We are particularly looking for projects that will engage with the youth and diversity of our City, will reach all sections of the population and will attract both national and international visitors.
We have already carried out several workshops with groups from across the City that have identified our bid themes, which are detailed in the form below. This is your callout for ideas.
In the first instance, we want to find 40 or 50 great ideas to help Coventry win. These ideas should be extra-ordinary. If we are successful, we anticipate a year-long programme featuring many more projects and up to 1000 events.
Any ideas that you submit will be treated with respect and confidentiality and will be credited appropriately.
Please send completed forms back to Emma Harrabin at by Friday 6th January 2017.
Project Name:
Project Champion:
The person(s) who will manage it
Email address:
Phone number:
Brief Description of your project:100 words max
Please note there is a larger one-page project description at the end of this form
Please highlight which categories best describe your project:
You can highlight as many as appropriate
Project Type:
- Venueprogramme
- NewCommission (Artist / Organisation)
- Artist residency
- Festival
- Spectacle/ Outdoor Event
- Youth / School / College / Higher Education
- Participation / Community engagement
- International
- Other (please give details)
Coventry 2021 will be programmed around a series of themes drawn from workshops about the distinctiveness of the city. We are now testing these themes as a source of imaginative programming.
Moving
A city that has moved people by cycle, car, and plane, is now moving people through culture.People have been moved by Coventry’s history and physically moved by its cycles, cars and invention of the jet engine. This is a city of innovation whose contribution to the world in science, engineering and transport has inspired generations of people to live, learn and work in the city.
We are interested in projects including moving stories, moving people, physical and emotional movement.
Underground
A city built on a hidden river has been the birthplace of new movements, myths and legends. From Lady Godiva’s silent journey of revolution to the creation of ‘2-tone’, Theatre in Education and The Shop Front Theatre, Coventry has given birth to subcultures, peaceful protest and new ways of experiencing the arts. The theme will demonstrate how youth culture becomes world culture, how social media and street art become the new galleries and theatres of the 21st century.
We are looking for projects that celebrate the role of the arts and sub culture in political protest and inspirechange to society.
Reinvention
A place that is constantly rethinking what a city is for. A city where people, artists and places can reinvent themselves.It’s a city that suffered social and economic loss on an epic scale. However, it is a city of resilience and is constantly reinventing, rejuvenating and rebuilding itself. The city that gave birth to modernism in the UK has been imagining a new future. Coventry has been the UK’s beating heart of invention – a place of surprises, unintentional creations and strange Imagineering. It has delivered new innovation in everything from car design to town twinning, from community schoolsto electronic music.
We are interested in projects that recycle, repurpose or reinvent culture.
Human
Coventry has played a unique role as a city of sanctuary. Individuals and organisations, such as Coventry Cathedral and The Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre continue to reinforce this as a City of Peace and Reconciliation. Coventry is a diverse city, with a history of welcomingpeople from across the world; from its Irish community to more recent Syrian refugees the city embraces many cultures from Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.
We want to look at an international programme that explores the role of creativity, arts and culture in tackling issues born out of conflict. We are interested in projects that explore humanity and the stories of people and artists who make a difference to the world. We want to celebrate and showcase the rich cultures of our diverse population and look at the identity of our city.
Please tell us why this project could only happen in Coventry, and only in 2021:
Project Timing:
Dates / months / relevant anniversaries / festivals where applicable:
Venue / location / platform (s):
e.g. public or hidden space in the City, established venue, online
Lead delivery organisation / individual:
Other partners:
Estimated budget:
Please note, the City of Culture Trust is not a funding body but we need to get an idea of the scale of people’s project proposals. The year will not support capital projects.At a later stage we will work with Project Champions to develop detailed costings of the projects that we select as illustrations in the bid document.
Cost
Overall cost
Potential funding required
Any cash or in kind contribution from your organisation (e.g. an existing budget, council or Arts Council grant, in kind staffing)
Notes
One-page project description
What is your project? Please include the following if possible…
- Any specific artists
- Target audiences/participation
- Any images or web links to artists/similar projects