MIF: MIF Creative encourages communities to collaborate and listen
Amadou and Mariam who will be playing as part of MIF Creative
THE Manchester International Festival will be encouraging communities to get creative this July with numerous MIF Creative events taking place in venues across the city.
MIF Creative is the festival’s innovative programme of collaborative projects which aim to provide exciting opportunities to local communities so that they can get involved in the development of artistic productions and be inspired by artists who are at the top of their game.
Its activities range from large-scale artistic commissions developed with everyone from local schoolchildren to shop assistants, from refugees to pensioners, to programmes to help emerging Manchester-based producers get ahead on the professional ladder.
Key MIF Creative projects include:
- Procession, a major new commission by artist Jeremy Deller, inspired by and involving diverse communities and groups from across Greater Manchester.
- Amadou & Mariam and the Beating Wing Orchestra - a unique collaboration between the Malian superstars and the Manchester-based orchestra, working together over 6 months to develop a series of stunning concerts for the 2009 Festival.
- Something in the Air - a new commission from the acclaimed theatre company Oily Cart, who return to Manchester to collaborate with three Special Educational Needs Schools on a specialized production for young people with profound and multiple learning disabilities or an autistic spectrum disorder.
- The Difference Engine – a children’s adventure in more ways than one! Created by Walk the Plank and Thingumajig Theatre and co-commissioned by MIF Creative, The Centre for Urban Education (MMU) and The Museum of Science and Industry.
- Trainee Producers Programme - recognizing that Producers are the life-blood of a commissioning and producing festival, MIF will mentor 5 Manchester-based Producers looking to establish themselves in the creative industries.
- International Talent Campus – emerging producers from across the globe will join producers from England’s North West on a 4 day programme to share knowledge, ideas and aspirations with their international peers and to kick-off new artistic collaborations between Manchester and the world.
With such an exciting array of opportunities on offer, there looks set to be something for everyone with a creative bent to get involved in throughout the course of the festival.
You can find more information on MIF Creative at the Manchester International Festival's website, www.mif.co.uk
Published: Wed, 18 March, 2009
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