‘Changemakers’ to fly City of Culture flag across the globe

TWENTY CREATIVE PROJECTS WILL FORGE NEW LINKS AROUND THE WORLD IN NEWLY-LAUNCHED PROJECT

COVENTRY artists and community workers will fly the City of Culture flag across the globe after their projects were selected for the International Changemakers Bursary scheme.

Twenty people from all walks of life will build on the city’s reputation as a place of reconciliation and internationalism by making new links as far afield as Brazil, India, Jamaica, Kenya and South Africa.

The projects which have landed funding span dance, music and sculpture and will also bring a wide range of world cultures back to the city.

The changemakers will make international creative collaborations, develop ideas, creating lasting legacies and develop their own skills and portfolios.

Spirit of internationalism The scheme is taking place in the spirit of internationalism, exemplified by

Coventry’s pioneering activism in the twin city movement after World War Two, in the run-in to City of Culture 2021.

Funded by the British Council, Coventry UK City of Culture’s international partner, the programme will strengthen and evolve Coventry’s longstanding role as a place of collaboration and friendship.

Jon Davis, senior producer at Coventry City of Culture Trust, said: “Each project will see an International Changemaker taking the city’s voice to all corners of the world, showcasing the culture and heritage of the city on a global scale and returning with the spirit of what connects us as people.

“The successful applicants were selected thanks to the breadth and scale of their global ambitions, meaning this project has truly become an international partnership featuring the city’s creative practitioners, artists, activists, professionals and community leaders.

“These projects will help to not only bring Coventry to the world, but will build lasting partnerships with cities across the globe, using art and culture to create a collective movement of connected changemakers.

“The knowledge that is being passed through this exchange will create a lasting international legacy in the partnerships and projects that are created from their work - we are so excited to see what our International Changemakers discover on their travels.”

Lucy Tomlins, artist and director of Pangaea Sculptors’ Centre, will head to the clay quarter in Kolkata, India, to connect Western artistic practices with the incredible traditional skills of the region’s artisans.

The sculptor will share knowledge and explore joint projects with the Kumartuli craftspeople, who are globally renowned for their work with clay. Working purely from memory, the artisans are most well-known for the likenesses they make of gods for Hindu festivals, thousands of which are exported across the world every year, including to the community in Coventry. Kickstarted by a conversation between Lucy and Nandita Palchoudhuri, a Kolkata-based social entrepreneur, curator and art consultant, it’s envisaged that the bursary will result in a cultural partnership connecting the two cities.

Colin Bell and Cherelle Harding will be visiting one of Coventry’s twin cities - Kingston in Jamaica - in the hope of connecting the cultures and people by re-establishing a Caribbean carnival in Coventry in 2021.

Sherrie Edgar will travel to Ukraine to establish a connection with a country affected by war further exploring Coventry’s role as a city of peace and reconciliation.

The work will spread as far as Cape Town with Coventry artist Colin Yates creating a series of new work alongside South African artists to be showcased ahead of 2021.

Armonico Consort will be bringing the sounds of Coventry to Kenya, before returning with songs from the country’s locales to be recreated in an original composition by the company’s composer, Toby Young, set to be performed throughout the city by Armonico’s choirs.

FROM COVENTRY TO THE WORLD - CHANGEMAKERS GOING GLOBAL:

of the city