To get a feel for it, have a look at the 2013 programme and gallery.    

In 2014 the fifteenth Emergency takes place on Saturday 4 October, at Z-arts, Manchester (12-11pm) with the callout for proposals open from Friday 25 July to Monday 25 August, 5pm — details are posted here and at emergencymcr.org   

With a whole range of spaces to fill - what we now need is a lots of great work! So...    

Artists working in live art, contemporary performance, time-based media and interdisciplinary arts are invited to submit proposals of short pieces of work, works in progress or extracts of longer works for inclusion in this event. Proposals are also encouraged for durational, one to one and limited capacity work; performance installation and intervention-based works in and around the spaces.

And… since this is our 15^th year, we wouldn’t be averse to ideas for a finale!

Emergency is:    

• a free, public micro-festival and open submission platform;   
• an opportunity for artists to meet, show and peer review work;      
• a selection event for a number of small Works Ahead commissions to be developed & supported by hÅb;    

Work can be in any relevant artform/medium, though some live presence is desirable. Show-type work should be 20 minutes max in duration, low tech and suitable for quick turnarounds, self-supporting in terms of props/set/equipment and specialised technology.    

We also strongly encourage durational, one to one and limited capacity work; performance installation and intervention-based works in and around the spaces.    

Emergency will offer an honorarium of up to £100 per piece selected, to cover fees/expenses.

To apply:    

• Download the Emergency Open Call Guidance Notes (below);     
• Complete the Online Proposal form;   
• Complete the Online Monitoring form (please, it really helps us!);       

DEADLINE Monday 25 August 2014, 5pm.        

Actual links for both forms: 

https://habarts.wufoo.eu/forms/emergency-2014-proposal-form/

https://habarts.wufoo.eu/forms/hab-monitoring-form/

Enquiries: emergencyAThabarts.org

Emergency 2014 is presented by Word of Warning; produced by hÅb and supported by Arts Council England, Manchester City Council STUN and Z-arts. A greenroom legacy project.

A workshop exploring the history of performance practices through physical and performative responses.

Project summary:
A workshop in which 15 self-identified artists - emerging, mid-career or recently graduated - will explore a history of performance practices through physical, performative and playful acts that will allow the development of a range of responses.

The workshop will use the structure of Call and Response, a form of communication rooted in African diaspora but also found in other cultures. It often underpins social and cultural interaction, through art, dance and music, think hip-hop, Gospel and Jazz. The workshop is intended to be a social and communal ‘gathering’ that will allow dialogue and exchange between different individuals. Activities will encourage participants to develop ‘calls’ (actions, provocations, questions, statements, comments etc.) with the aim to elicit ‘responses’ from other participants and a wider audience. Using conventions of West African tribal gathering, guests will share food, drink, music, conversation practice and good times in Manchester over 1 evening and 2 days.

The aim is to create convivial and responsive environment for artists to engage with their peers, guest practitioners, historical/archival documentation of Live Art and performance work.

Activities will include:

Introduction and Exchange

An introduction to individuals practice and an initial exchange of influences

Re-perform

The group will examine archival/documentation, through strategies of re-performance and interpretation. There will be a playful exploration of instructional works, responding to historical material and generating new work in response.

Artists may include William Pope L, Valie Export, Ana Mendiata, Ewa Partum and Lygia Clark.

Call, Response and Share

Participants will take it in turn to present actions, instructions, and performances to the group. The group and I will participate and respond to the calls.

Open sharing

There will be an opportunity for the group to present and share strategies, approaches and ideas from the weekend in an informal and supportive environment. Guest will be invited.

All participants must commit to the entire process in Manchester.

Dates, times and location(s):
STUN @Z-arts, Manchester

Thursday 24th July 2014, 5pm to 8pm

Friday 25th July 2014, 10am to 6pm

Saturday 26th July 2014, 10am to 6pm

Participants will need to arrange and pay for their own travel and accommodation. Some food will be provided (please advise of any dietary needs ahead of time).

Deadline, noon, Tuesday June 24th.

Application procedure: 
The workshop is open to those working with Performance and Live art and those perhaps looking to engage with performance strategies for the first time. An interest, desire and openness to examine historical works and develop performative responses will be key.

Artist should submit

1. CV/Biog, web links

2. Artists are asked to select 1 example of a contemporary or historical performance work they would like to respond to. Please write a brief description (300 words) about this choice. Identify why you have chosen the particular work and talk about its influence on your practice or thinking.

Artists selected will be asked to present (informally) their chosen work at the start of the workshop.

3. Up to 5 jpeg images of your work or links to material online

Artists based in the North and North West are encouraged to apply

Please email your application to Harold Offeh cc'ing Aaron Wright.
Applications should have the subject heading Call and Response DIY 11.

The artist:
Harold Offeh works in a range of media including performance, video, photography, interactive and digital media, employing humour as a means to confront the viewer with an assessment of contemporary popular culture. Recently, Offeh has approached the themes of futurism and hair through collective live engagements with other artists, performers and community participation. He has shown widely both in the UK and internationally. He lives in Cambridge and works in London and Leeds where he is a senior lecturer in Fine Art at Leeds Metropolitan University.
http://haroldoffeh.com/

Contact information:
Harold Offeh

This project is part of DIY 11: 2014 and is supported by hÅb and STUN.

• If you have an idea that you would like to test out; a fully realised work that you would like to show for the first time, or a performance that you have shown before but would like the chance to bring it to new audiences, we would like to hear from you.

• If you would like to colonise a space at Chapter – or elsewhere in Cardiff - or share ideas and critical feedback with other artists or host a talk or event, we would like to hear from you.

• If you are an artist who would like to take part we actively encourage you to stay for all five days of the festival so that you can make the most of your time here. Alongside the opportunity to see works by many other artists, this also includes our daily peer-to-peer dialogue and performance review, talks and presentations hosted by our artist-curator team and social events.

Hazard 2014 – Saturday 12 July – Manchester City Centre


Presented by Word of Warning, produced by hÅb + The Larks in collaboration with the participating artists, a greenroom legacy project

Proposals are now invited for Hazard 2014 (Deadline Friday 16 May 2014, 6pm):


A micro-festival of incidental intervention and sited performance, blurring the boundaries between art and activism… cheeky, thought-provoking and sometimes raunchy sprees of eccentricity…


Manchester’s unique micro-festival of all things bizarre and stripy returns for its fifth outing, and invites you to join in with its strange antics and ludic(rous) activities. So far we’ve wrapped Cathedral Gardens in fluttering hazard tape, pitted together a lion and a unicorn, moved the goalposts (literally) and witnessed flat packed children take over streets of Manchester – oh, and conducted a hoola-hoopathon; The Larks had the public riddling, racing and chasing as urban archaeologists and private investigators, injecting mass gaming into St Ann’s Square and beyond. To date Hazard has produced four micro-festivals of sited performance and intervention – over 80 artists have taken to the streets of Manchester including: Action Hero, Alex Bradley, Jordan Mackenzie, Juliann O’Malley, Katherina Radeva, Michael Pinchbeck, Richard DeDomenici, Shahram Entekhabi + the vacuum cleaner.


For a glimpse of previous outbreaks of hazardous behaviour see here.

In 2014 we are seeking to do it all again, once more incorporating playful interjections from The Larks.  

Think big, think bright, think irreverent!

Call for Proposals:


This year we are using St. Ann’s Square as our focal hub again, with projects happening in, or radiating out from there.


We are now looking for proposals of work for a daytime event (Sat 12 July, 12noon-5pm) in Manchester City Centre:

• work that intervenes in public spaces in the city centre;

• work that is socially engaged, and/or conceptually motivated;

• work that is low- or no-tech and self-sufficient;

• work that is interactive and playful – which could mean anything from street/urban/pervasive games to playful spectacles;

• we will give bonus points for creative engagement with the idea of hazard – chance, danger, risk, and/or use of yellow+black tape! 

In addition to the general call for proposals of work, there are also a number of specific opportunities: 

• one commission (small budget) for a ‘launch’ embodying the notion of Hazard, which focuses on and draws attention to the event;

• ideas for flash-mobs and/or mass participation interventions;

• work that is playful/interactive/participatory (both games and more loose formats welcome).


Hazard will be programmed by Tamsin Drury of hÅb, with The Larks team focusing on interactive/play-based work. We will select from proposals from this call and other research, to put together the best possible programme of work for the event. There are no fixed criteria aside from the guidelines above and the feasibility/legality of the ideas for realisation in the public domain.


Honorarium/expenses (£2-300 per piece) available, to be negotiated on an individual basis. Please include outline budget with your proposal. For projects needing significantly more money, please contact hazard@habarts.org to talk it through first.

To apply

Please complete the proposal form (and the monitoring form too if you can bear it!)

A couple of people seem to be having problems with the links so the direct ones are: 

Proposal form:    http://habarts.wufoo.eu/forms/hazard-2014-proposal-form

Monitoring form: https://habarts.wufoo.eu/forms/hab-monitoring-form/

It would be great if you could send us a link to video of your work – either things you’ve done in the past – or a mock-up or pitch of what you’re planning!

Deadline: Friday 16 May 2014, 6pm

The small print:
•    pieces must be the artist's own, original work;
•    the artist must hold copyright/ownership of the piece and materials included;  
•    artists must conform with statutory and local authority rules concerning health and safety, obscenity and defamation and any other licensing conditions imposed;
•    Equal Opportunities will be employed in the selection and programming of this platform.

To apply: