The Digital Storytelling Lab is calling on artists, filmmakers, digital storytellers, YouTubers and activists aged 18-25 living in Coventry or in Nairobi. Applicants should be interested in creating bold, thought provoking or playfully disruptive digital stories using immersive audio, interactive video or 360 video.
Applicants will also get a chance to develop work using tools from BBC R&D or Google Arts and Culture and work internationally with other artists to create and showcase new work.
The selected 12 selected artists will receive a cumulative stipend of Ksh. 520,000 (£3,400) and Production budgets of up to Ksh. 612,000 (£4,000).
To learn more about the program, interested applicants can sign up for one of our Youthful Cities: Digital Storytelling Lab Webinars on 24th June at 2 p.m. EAT and 28th June at 2 p.m. EAT.
Deadline for applications is Monday 12 July, 2021 at 7 p.m. EAT.
Through a 10 month program from July 2021 – March 2022, Youthful Cities: Digital Storytelling Lab will take the 12 selected artists through a collaborative process. The process is part of a cultural exchange, part digital storytelling lab and part commissioning program.
All selected artists must commit to a minimum of 20 days over the 10 month period. 5 days of which are for attending the creative development days which are the Cultural Exchange, The Masterclasses and Labs and The Global Youth Summit. 5 days will be for prototyping and 10 days for production.
Selected artists will take part in the following.
- Cultural Exchange – 30th July and 6th August 2021: exploring what it is like to be young in a different society and culture and finding out more about the Youthful Cities Index.
- Masterclasses and Labs – 7th – 9th September 2021: a virtual series of Masterclasses from trailblazers in the field of digital storytelling and intensive workshops from BBC R&D introducing the cohort to a range of existing, cutting-edge storytelling techniques, tools, and platforms across immersive audio, interactive and 360 video . This will result in the development of initial project ideas in international teams.
- Prototyping Phase – 21st to 23rd September 2021: working remotely and with additional tech support in each location, the cohort will work in teams to develop a “cardboard” or working prototype of their project.
- Global Youth Summit – 11th to 13th Nov 2021: the Digital Storytelling Lab cohort will join the cohorts of artists taking part in the other three Youthful Cities exchange programs between Coventry and Detroit, Bogota and Beirut, to share their experiences and work, and to discuss the role of art and culture in the future of their respective cities with international speakers and changemakers.
- Production Phase – Nov 2021 to Jan 2022: collaborating with international peers, through the Production Labs, in teams of 4 (2 artists from Coventry and 2 artists from Nairobi per team), 3 final projects will be taken forward to be scaled up into production
- Publication and Distribution – Feb to March 2022: publishing, distributing and showcasing their projects as part of Coventry’s UK City of Culture year in March 2022.