Hay Festival Global has today launched The Platform, an open call for creatives aged 21–28 to submit their new work to be showcased in Hay-on-Wye, 23 May–2 June.
Supported by funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England, The Platform is a brand-new initiative to promote, support and develop young creative talent.
Artists can find out more about the programme and submit their ideas at hayfestival.org/the-platform – deadline for submission is Wednesday 17 April.
Successful artists will have the chance to share their work with Festival audiences on Wednesday 29 May in the Festival’s central Marquee space, plus meet and network with established artists over a three-day visit. All Festival expenses will be paid and each artist will earn an event fee for their work.
The Platform is open to a range of art forms, including performance (theatre, dance, street), poetry, digital art, film, audio, music, and literature and focus on bringing together a diverse and representative group of artists from across the UK.
Applications will be assessed by a panel of artists that represent the work submitted and Hay Festival Global’s creative team.
Hay Festival CEO Julie Finch said:
“Hay Festival Global is a charity built on creative collaborations. The Platform is designed to support young artists in building connections, on stage and off, showcasing their work to our Festival audience while facilitating creative collaborations with established artists. We are very grateful for funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England to allow us to broaden opportunities even further with this new open call. Please help us spread the word about this opportunity. We cannot wait to see the submissions!”
Hay Festival Global, one of the world’s leading cultural charities, was founded in Hay-on-Wye, Wales in 1987, provides audiences with dynamic platforms to come together to share ideas and different perspectives, provoking conversations that can create a better world. Working collaboratively with partners and communities across the world, the charity is a catalyst for change, whose bold, inclusive, and imaginative approach makes a significant difference to people’s lives.
The next Festival edition in Hay-on-Wye takes place 23 May–2 June. Thirty earlybird events are on sale now, offering a promise of fresh thinking, dynamic performances and diverse voices. Confirmed speakers include novelists Colm Tóibín, Marlon James, Jeanette Winterson and Andrey Kurkov; environmentalist George Monbiot; podcaster Rory Stewart; comedians Julian Clary and Sara Pascoe; poet Hollie McNish; musician Jools Holland; and actors Miriam Margolyes and Lenny Henry. The full programme will be released at noon on Tuesday 12 March.
Meanwhile, Festival events further afield are already in full swing. In January, there were editions in Jericó, Medellín and Cartagena, Colombia, and Panama City, while Hay Festival Forum Seville in Spain takes place next weekend. Closer to home, the Scribblers Tour, which delivers free events to schoolchildren at university venues across Wales has just wrapped up.
