Contact and Manchester International Festival are looking for three Greater Manchester-based, non-binary artists to participate in a 50-hour artistic lock-in at Contact.

In celebration of Contact’s 50th birthday and as part of Manchester International Festival, three artists will take over the Contact building for 50 hours from Wednesday 12th – Friday 14th July.

They'll be on a mission to create exciting new work based on a brief set out by award-winning international artist, Danez Smith.

The artists will then share this new work with a live audience at 6pm on Friday 14th July at Contact in celebration of International Non-Binary People's Day.

Are you interested in being part of the lock-in? Keep reading!

Who are you?

• We are looking for three Greater Manchester-based non-binary artists
• You must be over the age of 18
• You can be at any point in your career
• Artists working in any artform (poetry, theatre, live art, music, dance, or anything else)
• Artists interested in developing their network and practice

Please note, this is a paid opportunity with a £450 fee.

What do we need from you?

Please submit a short piece of work that answers the question ‘what does freedom mean to you?’ and complete the Microsoft Form at this link or on this page.

Please send your submission as a link within the form (e.g. to a YouTube video, Soundcloud, WeTransfer, Google document). Video or audio submissions should not exceed 3 minutes in length.

Deadline for Applications

The deadline for applications is Thursday 1st June 2023, at 6pm.