Participation Artist Brief – The Survivor

In August 2022 Animated Objects Theatre Company will bring a unique series of live events to Crawley. The Survivor is a large scale puppet project that will visit a number of destinations in the town from 11^th – 14^th August 2022. The puppet is a young girl who is displaced; a survivor of conflict and warfare; and she has arrived in a place unfamiliar to her. She is lost; frightened and alone. She is a refugee; seeking safety and asylum. She stands at almost 5 metres tall.

The Survivor will arrive in Crawley on Thurs 11th August 2022 and be welcomed by the people of the town with artworks, music and spoken word. Over the following days she will visit a range of locations in Crawley and be met by a wide variety of local people who will engage with her in different ways. We anticipate she will be witnessed by around 15,000 people.

The project is part of Creative Crawley and Crawley Town Centre Business Improvement District’s May – September 2022 season. Enliven: You’re Welcome  is a season of arts and culture in Crawley celebrating the diverse and welcoming nature of the town whose history is rooted in migration.

It is produced by Creative Crawley and funded by Crawley Town Centre Business Improvement District, Arts Council England and Crawley Borough Council as part of the town’s 75^th anniversary season.

Aims of the role(s)

We are seeking up to three different artists to work with local people to produce ‘welcome’ artworks to greet The Survivor when she arrives in Crawley. These artworks could be in the form of song, dance, craft, poetry, banners, flags or something we haven’t listed here.

We want to work with professional artists who:

• Can co-create family-friendly artwork(s) that connect with a range of diverse participants and locations in Crawley
• Connect with different communities in Crawley in the lead up to The Survivor’s arrival in Crawley
• Deliver a series of creative workshops with local people to co-create the artworks.

We are seeking artists who:

• Have a professional participation practice over at least 2 years.
• Have experience of working with different communities to celebrate creativity and remove barriers to participation in the arts
• Have experience of working with a range of communities from different ages and backgrounds
• Have experience of or are passionate about working with refugees and migrants and in particular those from Afghanistan and/or the Chagos Islands as well as elders who may have moved to Crawley from London after the second world war.
• Have experience of working with different youth groups from groups such as scouts or local dance schools as well as other people who live and work in the town.
• Are used to driving a creative process that leads to an outcome or series of outcomes
• Can make the most of limited resources
• Have track record in creating artworks that connect with people
• Live in the South East of England (ideally in Sussex)

We actively support applications from artists/artist collectives from diverse backgrounds and protected groups.

The fee

We have a total budget of £6000 for this freelance role. This could be split by up to 3 artists (8 days x £250 per day each e.g.) but are open to working with fewer artists for longer, if they can fulfill the brief.

The schedule

Mon 14^th February:                  Call out goes live

Weds 30^th March:                     Deadline for applications

w/c 4^th April:                                Interviews take place

By end of April:                            Artist(s) in place and work begins

May – July:                                     Workshops take place and artworks are created

Monday 8th – Weds 10th August: rehearsals and arrival of Animated Objects crew

12^th – 14^th August:                  Welcome artworks presented to The Survivor

Download a word document of the full brief here: You’re Welcome Participation Artist brief Feb 2022

Download a PDF of the full brief here: You’re Welcome Participation Artist brief Feb 2022.docx

Listen to audio description of the full brief here