Factory International announces first wave of artists for REFRAME development programme

Factory International has announced the first handful of acts to join its pioneering talent development programme, REFRAME: supported by Apple with partners The Southbank Centre and Birmingham City University’s STEAMhouse and Midlands Art Centre.

The free programme supports Black and Black mixed heritage creatives in Manchester, London and Birmingham, and helps tackle the systematic barriers to career development Black creatives face in the arts and creative industries.

80 emerging artists will present their artwork at a free exhibition which opens on Tue 18 Jul at the Southbank Centre, running for several weeks during Planet Summer, a multi-artform season that explores themes of care, hope, connection and activism in response to the climate emergency.

The Residency is led by tutors who are established artists: Riley Bramley-Dymond (writer and director); Holly-Marie Cato (photographer and director); dubmorphology (production and performance group); Caleb Femi (writer, director and photographer); Joshua Inyang (music producer, artist and radio host); Nicole Justice (singer, performer, composer, producer and audio engineer); Tayyib Mahmood (filmmaker); Denise Maxwell (photographer); and Tanya Weekes (photographer).

The initiative is a key part of Factory International’s commitment to supporting and platforming local artists. The imminent flagship venue promises to be a training ground for the next generation of creators. The focus will be on creating opportunities for artists from the North of England, particularly those most underrepresented in the sector, to develop work at scale, to be interdisciplinary and support the development of new international networks to export talent from the region.

Other initiatives include a new annual Factory International Fellowship in which six artists from the north will shadow the creation of major new work at Factory International and the festival, as well as providing bursaries and dedicated artistic support; and Artist Takeover – a new Factory International programme dedicated to showcasing new and exciting artists from Greater Manchester and the North of England.

You can find more information about REFRAME here.