We are offering five Greater Manchester-based artists and creatives within the first ten years of their career the unique opportunity to follow the creation of up to two major Festival productions from February 2021 until the next Festival (1-18 July 2021) as part of MIF21 Creative Fellowships.

The programme will also provide them with mentoring support, a £3,000 bursary and the opportunity to visit a national or international organisation or place of interest that could inform future work. Applications close 11 December, 12pm.

MIF19 Fellows: Remi Adefeyisan, Nasima Begum, Naqqash Khalid, Jack Sheen, Caroline Ward

MIF offered similar successful schemes in the lead up to MIF19 and MIF17. In both, artists were given the opportunity to get under the skin of Festival highlights such as Idris Elba and Kwame Kwei-Armah’s Tree, Tania Bruguera’s School of Integration, and 10,000 Gestures created by Boris Charmatz.

Tree. Credit Marc Brenner

Speaking to Arts Professional, Amy Lawrence, a former MIF Creative Fellow and current MIF trustee said, “Being selected started my journey to becoming a more confident artist, able to negotiate ambitious and challenging spaces.” Read the full article here.

10000 Gestures. Credit: Tristram Kenton

Former MIF Creative Fellow Chanje Kunda, said of her experience, “What was great about the fellowship was, it was a paid opportunity where you didn’t have the pressure of having to make work or present anything at the end of it. It was about investing time in your creativity and learning and not having to worry about your bills in the process.” Read full interview here.

As the world’s first festival of original, new work and special events we have commissioned, produced and presented world premieres by artists including Marina Abramović, Skepta, Steve McQueen and Björk. These and many other world-renowned artists from different art forms and backgrounds have created incredible forward-thinking new work, staged in venues across Greater Manchester – from theatres, galleries and concert halls to railway depots, churches and car parks.

The successful MIF21 Creative Fellowships candidates will find out what goes into the creation, production and presentation of similar major Festival works – as well as discover how we are planning towards The Factory, our future year-round home.

Skepta’s DYSTOPIA987.  credit Jordan Hughes

This month also saw the selection of the new Festival In My House… And Yours creatives. We are looking forward to supporting this new cohort of local artists and creatives to host digital events in their own homes over the next six months. With recent events ranging from voguing parties, to poetry performances and disco cookouts, the next selection of artists will each create a new digital artwork or experience which will be presented monthly on MIF Live starting from December 2020.

Recipients of further financial support for GM musicians through MIF Sounds, an initiative set up to support Greater Manchester music industry creatives and practitioners to develop new projects, will be announced soon.

Lead Image: Joel Chester Fildes