The recently announced Preston Live Arts Festival is inviting applications for local artists to create and submit unique work which celebrates the city of Preston and its people.

Successful commissions of visual artwork will be presented at a ten-day exhibition ‘Preston Awakens’ in the city centre.

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Dance, drama and spoken word performances will be hosted at various locations over three scratch nights in the city. Local musicians are also invited to participate.

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‘Preston Awakens’ are interested in hearing from local artists who want to develop creative, high-quality work of any discipline or media, for an exhibition that will grab the attention and imagination of viewers.

Work should be original to the applying artist who can submit existing work, as well as new material.

Each successful commission will receive £1,000 and the work will be exhibited 21 – 30 June.

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‘Lockdown Stories’ are inviting local professional and amateur artists to tell their stories across a series of three scratch nights with a focus on Drama, Dance and Spoken Word. 

Successful commissions from either groups or individuals will be invited to perform during three Scratch Nights across the ten-day Preston Live Arts Festival in the city. 

The focus of the proposed performance pieces should be imaginative, inventive, and heartfelt representations of Preston’s perspective on lockdown.

Acts should be short (a maximum of 10 minutes). Each successful entry will receive a commission payment of £300 and a further performance fee.

In addition, the Festival are looking for local bands based in and around Preston for a one night celebration of the cities musical talent and are asking for local acoustic artists wanting to showcase their talents on a unique platform.

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Centred on a celebration of all things Preston all applicants should be local to the city or surrounding areas and should develop ideas that can engage with a broad audience.

Adrian Phillips, Chief Executive of Preston City Council, said: “This festival is a celebration of Preston, its people and everything that makes our city unique.

“We have a fantastic creative community and culture scene in Preston and I’d encourage all artists, performers and musicians in Preston and the surrounding area to submit their work and grasp the opportunity to be part of this celebration of culture.

“The festival is open to applicants from all backgrounds and levels of experience and it would be excellent to see the diversity of our communities fully reflected in Preston Live.”

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Preston Live Arts Festival Is funded by a recent grant from the DCMS Cultural Recovery fund and will be delivered on behalf of Preston City Council by Selladoor Worldwide. 

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Preston Live! demonstrates the City Councils plans to rebuild a live theatre programme and audience for Preston positioning arts and culture as a key catalyst for the growth and development of the city.

For more information and an application pack for “Lockdown Stories” or “Preston Awakens” visit www.preston.live local bands should register their interest at info@preston.live  should they wish to be considered.

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Are you interested in being a part of Preston Live Arts Festival? Let us know in the comments below.