Songs of Solidarity (working title) is a bold, interdisciplinary project uniting artists, researchers, and refugees to co-create a powerful music-theatre performance. By weaving together ancient epics like Kalevala, Gilgamesh, and the Aeneid with modern stories and protest songs, the project explores solidarity, displacement, and friendship across time. At its heart, Songs of Solidarity seeks to craft a new epic - an origin story and uniting tale for the vast and growing global population of migrants, offering a transformative narrative that celebrates and redefines the migrant experience.

PROJEKT EUROPA and Dash Arts are seeking musicians who are also actors with lived experience of migration for an R&D taking place in Oxford, 9-13 December 2024.

We are seeking performers based in or near Oxford from a range of backgrounds, musical skills and specialities. This R&D will involve working collaboratively with artists, academics and refugee participants to explore performance material and dramaturgical structures for a new kind of epic story, rooted in themes of transnational identity, migration and solidarity. The week will culminate in a filmed public sharing of work in development in front of a small invited audience.

Who can apply?

• Musicians with performing experience, actor musicians, and performers who play an instrument

• Any musical genre, voice or instrumental skill

• First generation migrants - please see below for a definition of first generation migrant

• Musicians based in or near Oxford - we regret that we are unable to assist with commuting costs

How do I apply?

• Send an email to anna@projekteuropa.org with the subject title SONGS OF SOLIDARITY describing your interest in the project and your performance experience, clearly outlining your musical skills and any vocal ability, along with your CV.

Fee:

• The total fee offered to each artist is £625 (six hundred and twenty five pounds).

Deadline for applications is 6pm on 31 October - we will contact all applicants in the w/c 11 November.

What do we mean by ‘first generation migrant’?

We recognise that there are many circumstances by which you can identify as a first generation migrant. To help, we have included suggested definitions (examples only) as articulated by Migrants in Theatre (link to the full document here):

• You do not hold a British passport but reside primarily in the UK, or

• You have moved to the UK after spending formative years abroad, or

• You weren’t born in the UK and have English as a second language, or

• You moved to the UK as a child, are culturally British but still seen as a migrant in the eyes of decision makers (especially if your name is foreign, if your ethnicity isn’t white, if you trained abroad etc.), or

• You are an asylum seeker in the UK, or

• You are a refugee in the UK, or

• You are undocumented in the UK

You may recognise yourself under one or more of these points, or you may define yourself in a different way. Either way, please do apply if you consider yourself to be a first generation migrant.

About PROJEKT EUROPA

Established in 2020, PROJEKT EUROPA is an international artist collective, an advocacy group and an arts organisation and we create migrant-focused, multi-lingual work at the intersection of performance, co-creation and participation. We work to internationalise the theatre industry by supporting the creativity of first generation migrants in the UK, amplifying marginalised voices and celebrating the multitude of international perspectives which already exist within our borders.

www.projekteuropa.org

About Dash Arts

Founded in 2005, Dash Arts creates exceptional artistic experiences that bridge divides across art-forms, cultures, languages and communities. Our theatre productions and artistic projects unearth lesser-known stories and give a voice to people and communities not often heard. Over the last 18 years, we’ve created award-winning new work with over 10,000 artists and participants to live audiences of over 400,000 worldwide.