COVENTRY youth arts organisations with a specialism in street art, music or storytelling are invited to apply for a City of Culture international cultural exchange with Detroit, Beirut, Bogota and Nairobi.
Coventry City of Culture Trust is calling for local arts organisations to put themselves forward for the Youthful Cities programme. It will see Coventry connect with each of these four international cities to explore the theme of youthfulness.
As part of the exchange, the chosen arts organisations will each work with five young people from Coventry and five young people in each of the international partner cities to create a cultural exchange, enabling young people to get involved in civic change through creativity.
It will culminate in a three-day International Summit led by the cohort of young people in Coventry during the UK City of Culture year from May 2021 to May 2022.
Titi Dawudu, the Young People and Youthfulness Programme Manager at Coventry City of Culture Trust, said: “This is an incredible opportunity for the artistic organisations of Coventry. Working with young people and with those from different parts of the world can open doors and create meaningful and long-lasting collaborations.
“This is the chance to empower local and international young people create art which means something to them, and to really mark Coventry as a city which moves forward on an international stage.”
The Trust is working with Positive Youth Foundation, Coventry City Council and the British Council on delivering this programme, together with Canada-based organisation, Youthful Cities, to conduct research on the ‘Youthfulness’ of Coventry and the partner cities. A full report, which will be published later this year, will form the basis of the exchange programme.
Chenine Bhathena, of Coventry City of Culture Trust, said: “Coventry is a youthful city in every way. It is one of the UK’s youngest cities with an average age of 32, compared to the current UK average of 41, we are told that the UK hasn’t been 32 since the 1970s.
“But our city’s youthfulness is about more than just our age. Every movement in our city throughout history involved young people. From the invention of electronic music, to Two-tone to pioneering Theatre in Education. These creative movements were all spear headed by our young population.
“This programme will promote the voices of our younger population, leaving behind a lasting legacy of change for Coventry and our partner cities.”
The exchange programme will explore major global themes of our day that young people face in modern cities around the world including the environment, homelessness and equality. Young people will be encouraged to use music, arts, spoken word and digital creativity to explore these big issues.
Applications are now open and the Trust is looking for organisations that can demonstrate a track record in street art, music or storytelling, and are committed to giving a voice to young people
Online workshops will be held on October 5 and 12 for those who want to find out more. The applications process closes on October 23. Find out how to apply at www.coventry2021.co.uk/jobs
