We’re celebrating the news that CAN is a Finalist for two prestigious Manchester Culture Awards in the categories of Promotion of Talent and Leadership and Best Performance. Founded in 2018, the Manchester Culture Awards celebrate Manchester’s arts organisations and the contribution they make to the city.
Our Promotion of Talent and Leadership nomination celebrates our work with artists and creatives from refugee and migrant heritage creatives in 2018/19. One highlight was Autumn 2018’s project Still I Rise, created in partnership with Digital Women’s Archive North and Manchester Art Gallery as part of Journeys Festival International. The project’s visual arts trail and performances featured the work of a powerful collective of international women creatives: Aida Foroutan, Ana Lucia Cuevas, Anya Mikolajczyk, Ekua Bayunu, Firoozeh Fozouni, Gloria Saya, Kani Kamil, Khalda Alkhmri, Manya Alkhmri, Mei Yuk Wong, Mahboobeh Rajabi, Roxana Allison, Shaheda Choudhury, Shahireh Sharif; and was directed by Yusra Warsama. The trail and performance were experienced by over 1,000 people.
Another highlight was our partnership with HOME for the Horizons Festival, coinciding with Refugee Week, where the creativity, spirit, and activism of the city’s global communities were celebrated through music, theatre, art, film, workshops, exhibitions, and discussion.
Our support for artists was seen outside of the city, too. The eminent Iranian Musician Seyed Ali Jaberi and the Hamdel Ensemble toured cities from Birmingham to Bristol and was part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Summer 2019. We supported Seyed to develop, produce and market the tour, and access Arts Council England funding to make the tour possible.
On a smaller, but no less important, scale, we’ve supported individual artists and smaller community organisations to achieve their creative ambitions through access to training, job opportunities and new connections.
Our Best Performance nomination was for A Generation Rising, a production developed by CAN Young Artists@HOME, a company of 13 – 19-year-olds, as part of a partnership between CAN and HOME. It intertwined autobiographical narratives, visual performance, music and soundscapes, offering a generous, honest and raw account of the lives and experiences of young people.
Martin Hazlehurst, CAN’s Chair:
“2019 is CAN’s 40th anniversary year and we’re delighted that our contribution to the city’s creativity is celebrated with these nominations.”
“We’ll hear on 9 November whether we’re a winner, and we’re crossing our fingers that we win an award that recognises our valuable contribution to Manchester. Whether we win or not, we feel sure that all the talent we have supported in 2018/2019, and in the 40 years of CAN’s existence, are winners in their careers and their communities. It’s a contribution we’re incredibly proud of.”
“Thank you to everyone who has been involved and wish us the very best of luck.”
