A new commission takes us outdoors...

We’re made up to announce that we’ve been awarded a micro commission from Stoke-on-Trent’s Urban Wilderness!

Urban Wilderness created a commission opportunity for local artists to make new work in response to the theme ‘Wastelands’. We’re so excited to have been awarded a commission to create audio project: our youth grows in a wasteland.

Merging our combined interests in making performance with & for young people, place and audio work, our youth grows in a wasteland will see us take inspiration from Stoke-on-Trent teenagers to create three short audio pieces inspired by and set in the local outdoor spaces that mean the world when you’re young.

First loves on benches; lying in grass as summer passes over; waiting for your mates in the park…

What do the outdoors mean when you’re old enough to explore the city on foot but too young to own your own space? In response particularly to the current situation and its disproportionate impact on young people and their movements, my youth grows in a wasteland will take us into a young person’s landscape and ask who are our outdoor spaces really designed for?

We’re thrilled to be given the opportunity to try out a different way of working, explore the fascinating world of audio further and work towards our longer term mission of better embedding our work in local lives.

We’ll be consulting with young people, writing and then recording the pieces during August. Watch this space for insight into the process and then keep your eyes (ears) peeled for the audio pieces from early September.

A big thank you to Urban Wilderness for making the commission possible. Learn more about their work and the other fantastic commissions at: www.urbanwildernesscic.com/wastelands

Image courtesy of Jenny Harper Photography.