Festival in My House... And Yours: Top Tips
Festival in My House… And Yours: Top Tips
There’s just a few days left to apply for the next round of Festival in My House… And Yours opportunities – a programme which supports artists from any discipline to create micro-festival events in their own homes.
The first online series of Festival in My House… And Yours events earlier this year saw voguing parties, poetry performances and disco cookouts beamed directly from artists’ homes to audiences’ screens – you can catch up with them all here.
Kiki In Our House, House of Noir
What might you bring to our screens next?
We asked our Engagement Manager, Andrew Westle and some of our amazing Festival in My House… And Yours alumni to give some top tips on what makes the ultimate online home-made festival.
For Andrew the most important thing is to “think bold and ambitious! Perhaps you want to reimagine a traditional pantomime in your lounge room, and broadcast to the world? Maybe you could create a gallery in your garden? Maybe this is your chance to collaborate digitally with an artist you love who lives in another country? It is open to any discipline and is a great opportunity to try out new ways of working online.”
Think bold and ambitious! Andrew Westle, Engagement Manager at MIF
Poet and performer Roma Havers created an online literary festival celebrating five of her favourite queer writers in Manchester: Frankie Blaus, Mandla Rae, Ella Otomewo, Okechukwu Nzelu and Rosie Garland. Roma told us that the trick is to “pitch something you will find fun making. If you care about it other people will too! There is nothing more engaging than watching someone care about something! This is an opportunity to make something for YOUR community.”
If you care about it other people will too! Roma Havers, previous Festival In My House... And Yours artist
We don’t expect you to submit fully formed ideas from the start and we are trialing an approach where shortlisted artists are paid £100 to develop their application in more depth. Simply send us a 2 minute video with the beginnings of a vision and we’ll work with you from there!
So what are the key ingredients to a Festival in My House… and Yours?
RebeccaNeverBecky created a virtual club night showcasing new and emerging BAME, LGBT+ & QTIPOC Manchester DJs and creatives and she says “you need to be clear with your vision from the start. Ask yourself, who are your audience? And what impact do you want to have? Every idea is a possibility so think big!”
Rebecca Swarray aka RebeccaNeverBecky
Ask yourself, who are your audience? Rebecca Swarray aka RebeccaNeverBecky
Knowing your audience is a crucial factor – be it a small discreet audience or something that resonates with a whole community. Andrew reflects that “the events in the first round all worked so well because they spoke directly to a specific community or audience, be it a music crowd, the queer community or those with a love of literature.”
The final submissions will be selected by a community panel that have all sorts of interests and passions, with the selected artists receiving a budget of up to £1,800 to create their event. Our team will help you to develop your idea into the best possible online event, with specialist talent-development support in production, broadcast and marketing. You’ll also get constructive feedback on your work, both during and after the broadcast, from industry experts.
Deadline for submissions is Thursday 8 October so get your thinking caps on and send us your idea. We can’t wait to hear from you!