LIFT and Battersea Arts Centre have opened an opportunity for two West African artists currently living and working in Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal or Sierra Leone to join the ‘New International Voices’ residency programme in London from 11-24 June, part of LIFT 2018. This year, LIFT and Battersea Arts Centre will partner with the British Council to support two West African artists to take part in this unique platform enabling significant development in their practice during LIFT’s festival in June.
The opportunity has been designed around the framework of a two week residency at Battersea Arts Centre concluding with an informal showing of new work and ideas. At Battersea Arts Centre, this sort of informal, well-supported sharing of new ideas in front of an audience is called Scratch.
The programme, created by LIFT and BAC will support a new generation of international artists who are in the early stages of their professional practice. Applicants must be working in theatre, dance, live art, spoken word and performance. With the support of Battersea Arts Centre, the British Council and LIFT producers, New International Voices programme is committed to enable artists to develop and present new work in a collaborative and supportive environment.
Based at Battersea Arts Centre, the residency is a chance for individual West African artists to test out new ideas, to challenge the way they work, and create new international networks. Through a communal living environment, artists will have opportunities to share, reflect and develop practice with peers. They will also be part of an exciting LIFT festival programme and can attend a number of the performances.
A filmmaker will follow the chosen artists through this process capturing their experience. They will document the development of the artists’ work, as well as capturing their presence within the festival.
The British Council is the United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities which creates friendly knowledge and understanding between the people of the UK and other countries. They make a positive contribution to the UK and the countries they work with – changing lives by creating opportunities, building connections and engendering trust.
On the other hand, the mission of Battersea Arts Centre is to inspire people to take creative risks to shape the future. BAC’s mission is a process called Scratch, that places the artist and audience in a creative dialogue to develop new ideas.
Whereas LIFT has risen to become a key cultural player in the British arts scene, telling the stories of our times and going to places no-one else would consider – geographically and artistically – to present unforgettable experiences that change the way we think and what we are inspired to do.