Shoot for the stars
FOUR-DAY ARTS FESTIVAL TO CELEBRATE CITY’S BEST HOME-GROWN ARTISTIC TALENT
A FOUR-DAY arts festival that celebrates Coventry’s rising stars is returning with its biggest-ever line-up and a top prize worth £1,000.
Organisers of Shoot Festival, which has been showcasing the city’s best homegrown artistic talent since 2014, are giving early-career performers the chance to show off their projects when it returns for its fourth edition in April.
Dancers, poets, theatre makers and musicians from across the region will have the opportunity to bring their ideas to life at various locations throughout the city, from the Belgrade Theatre to an outdoor performance area at the Bull Yard in the city centre from Thursday, April 4 to Sunday, April 7.
Successful applicants will receive £100 for taking part in the festival, while a panel of locally-based professional artists will decide two winners of the Artist Development Award, which includes a £500 cash prize and £500 worth of mentorship for each winner.
Shoot Festival was set up four years ago by festival directors Jennifer Davis and Paul O’Donnell.
Jennifer said: “We are committed to working exclusively with artists based in the CV postcode who want to take their artistic practice to the next level, and we’re going to be supporting more artists than ever before in 2019.
“Shoot Festival is an opportunity for artists to get paid for their work, build connections and receive ongoing mentoring and support. We welcome applications from any live art form or musical genre.”
Paul added: “The festival has grown so much since our first event. It’s now an established event in Coventry’s cultural calendar, and we’re excited to be bringing it back in April.” Emma Harrabin, of the Coventry City of Culture Trust, said: “With 2021 fast approaching it’s great to see another platform being offered to artists in the city.
“Shoot Festival has been gathering momentum for the last four years and it is another great example of the cultural offering that we can all build on in the city.”