10,000 Steps Around the World – artist commissions
Lingua Franca World Community CIC and Northern Roots have partnered up to produce Ten Thousand Steps Around the World, a unique new festival celebrating the natural world and our relationship with it.
Ten micro commissions worth £500 each are available to artists and creators based in Oldham and Greater Manchester. We welcome artists working in all artforms and have a strong commitment to selecting projects which engage with and reflect the varied cultures of Oldham.
Ten Thousand Steps Around the World will be produced at Northern Roots, which is creating the UK’s largest urban farm and eco park on 160-acres of stunning green space, ten minutes from Oldham town centre. The festival will take place in June 2022.
Creative brief
The Ten Thousand Steps Around the World Festival has been devised as a walking and arts experience for audiences.
Audiences will be taken on a physical journey through the natural world of the Northern Roots site, encountering a range of diverse creative performances and installations as they go.
We would like artists to be inspired by and respond to the theme of: Human: Nature
Process
We are inviting proposals in the first instance. The final selection of 10 artists will then be supported to make their projects a reality using their commission grant.
The applications will be assessed and selected by a panel of artists and producers from Northern Roots and Lingua Franca World Community CIC. The micro commissions have been funded by National Lottery project funding from Arts Council England.
Once decisions have been made, artists will be advanced funds on invoice and will be given six weeks to prepare their projects.
Applications Open: Tuesday 1st February 2022
Applications Close: Sunday 21st February 2022
Artists Selected by: Monday, 28 February 2022
Eligibility
- Applicants must be based in Greater Manchester
- Applicants must hold a UK bank account
- Applicants must be currently making some of their living from creativity
Please complete and return the form below to geli.berg@oldham.gov.uk by 5pm on Sunday 20th February 2022. Please also use this email address if you have any questions about the commission or your application, or if you have any access requirements.
TTSATW Commission Application Form FEB 22
TTSATW Commissioning Brief FEB 22
Background information
Ten Thousand Steps Around the World was devised by Lingua Franca World Community CIC (LFWC) which successfully applied to Arts Council England for funding for the first stage of the project – creative commissions for 10 artists.
LFWC’s mission statement is to raise the visibility and income of professional creative freelancers from diverse communities through arts and heritage projects which elevate understanding and collaboration between communities.
Northern Roots is working in partnership with LFWC to produce the festival, which will take place on the Northern Roots site in June 2022. The charity is currently developing a number of arts and culture pilot projects, and a strategic vision for arts and culture at Northern Roots.
