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BASS Festival

BASS Festival

Punch is offering between £500 and £3000 through its BASS Commissions fund for artists to present work at its annual BASS Festival (British Arts and Street Sounds) – the UK’s only month long celebration of Black Music and Art.

Every June, the UK comes alive with a phenomenal line-up of events, new commissions, gigs, exhibitions, masterclasses, showcases, club nights, theatre, conferences and film. For more information on applying to the commission fund please click on and read the links below.

In 2011 there are exciting new ways to get involved in BASS thanks to partnerships with Aspire 4U and Access to Music.

BASS 2011 Commissions: Revolution
For 2011 the theme is REVOLUTION. Through music, dance, spoken word and theatre REVOLUTION will be explored in terms of physical movement, music as a weapon of change and celebrating the creators of radical new music and styles.

This year BASS Festival is commissioning artists to make new music, dance, spoken word and theatre. Punch is looking for musicians, dancers, spoken word performers and other artists with a real passion to create exciting new work that challenges, engages and builds audiences.

Amongst the themes that we are looking for competitors to explore are the following:

•Musical Revolutionaries: – artists who have changed the face of Black music
•Promoting the next generation – what is the next big thing?
•Showcases for heroes in the emergence of Dubstep, Hip Hop, Afrobeat Jazz.
•May the Circle be Unbroken: Sounds that have made the soundtrack to changes in society such as Steel Pulse or Gospel singers
•Spins and Flips: revolutions on the dance floor
•Transformations: can you through words imagine new ways to present work or new stages to present it

To apply to the Punch Commission fund please download the following files.

Deadline for applications is 12 noon on 14th February 2011.

BASS Commissions 2011 application form
BASS 2011 Commissions – guidance

BASS Talent Award
For 2011 BASS Festival is teaming up with Aspire 4u to offer a special commission for young people aged 16 – 24 to show case performances with an award of up to £1000! To apply for this award follow the links below

BASS Talent Guidance Notes
BASS Talent Application Form

Working region-wide with some of the World’s finest promoters, venues and artists, BASS is a unique opportunity for critically acclaimed artists from the Midlands, the UK and beyond to share what they’re creating. The festival’s not just about events – there are workshops, masterclasses, artist lounges, film screenings, seminars, new productions and exhibitions – celebrating the past and investing in the future of the scene.

Every year the BASS festival follows a theme to help develop a united, innovative, challenging and progressive method to showcase urban arts.

Previous themes have included:
2006 Urban Art in New Venues
2007 Internationalism
2008 The Elements Hip Hop
2009 Inspired by Africa and Africans
2010 DNA

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