Sleight of Hand

We at Sleight of Hand stand in support of the Black Lives Matter Movement and the ongoing fight against systemic racism and white supremacy. As a diverse and multi-cultural team of people, many of our core team, artists and collaborators have themselves experienced racist discrimination in their lives, and we feel truly inspired and fired up by the extensive collective action going on right now across the UK and the world in protest against these wrongs. We want to do something. So we have launched DISCRIMINATION NATION to highlight the deep-rooted systemic problems in our country. Beginning with a project for locals in the South West of England, we will endeavour to create a platform for stories to be shared and change to be encouraged. We will invest cash, resources, and time in support of local artists of colour. We will collaborate with charities and organisations in support of the BLM cause. We will work with storytellers of colour in multiple forms to produce written and audio stories, photographs, and illustrations that highlight their experiences. We believe that storytelling can inspire action, and action can lead to true and lasting change. If you'd like to get involved or support, get in touch with us anytime.

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Our first project, in association with the South Devon Anti Racism Alliance (SDARA), will commission local creatives of colour to create binaural audio pieces and accompanying photographs/illustrations, to be experienced online, in installations around Devon, and as part of an education pack for schools. If you'd like to get involved, please see the below call (deadline July 31st).

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Open Call: South West Stories

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Sleight of Hand theatre company, in association with the South Devon Anti Racism Alliance (SDARA), are launching a project aiming to amplify the voices of local people of colour in the South West of England and raise awareness of diverse experiences.

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In support of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, by sharing stories on both a creative and educational platform we hope to inform local residents who feel detached from issues of race, and demonstrate just how urgently change is needed in the South West.

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If you are a person of colour who grew up in the South West, moved here, or even just visited, we would love to hear about your experience and encourage all who wish to share their stories to get in touch. You don’t have to be a professional or even experienced in writing or speaking, it’s just about telling your story from the heart. All submissions will be shared on the SDARA and Sleight of Hand websites and on social media (your story can remain totally anonymous if you prefer), and a panel (led by black artists and people of colour from the local community) will select 5 stories to be made into immersive audio pieces using 360 binaural audio. We will collaborate with those 5 storytellers to help develop their unique audio story, and can pay each selected contributor £75 for their time.

 

These 5 immersive audio pieces will distributed both online and in installations across the South West alongside further commissioned art, including illustration and photography, from local creatives of colour (watch this space for further details of these commissions). We will also create an educational resource for schools to promote the representation of diverse voices in the classroom, and to help educate the next generation about the challenges and discrimination facing many people of colour living in rural areas.

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If you'd like to get involved, please send your story (max 2 pages as a word document/PDF, or 5 minutes of speaking on an audio recording/video) to info@sleightofhandtheatre.co.uk by midnight 31st July.

 

If you need any help preparing your application, or have any questions, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line.