ABOLITION ARTS & WRITING PROGRAM
1919
Application Deadline: July 15th
The 1919 Abolition Arts and Writing Program is a paid opportunity for cultural workers and artists to curate a project or publish a series of works with 1919 over the summer from July to September 2021. This program is for artists, writers, journalists, activists, workers, organizers, performers, scholars and anyone who is thinking, imagining, and dreaming about abolition and is interested in publishing work to our digital publication. Applicants do not need to have any educational or professional experience and we especially encourage those seeking to strengthen their written and artistic skills to apply to this program. Applicants are encouraged to pitch original ideas and can do so as individuals, groups or collectives. This program is open to individuals of any age.
The proposed cultural works should be conceptualized around themes of abolition and/or anti-imperialism, a cornerstone of 1919’s platform and community work. We are seeking to help produce and publish written and artistic cultural works that allow artists, students, writers, and youth to amplify their voice and create spaces for dialogue and learning in our communities. These works should expand our community’s ability to recognize, reject and call in oppressive language and institutions in all of its forms. This project hopes to generate radical political imagination through the production of art, writing, and curation within our communities. We wish to mobilize our community by creating space for creative and political work that amplifies abolitionist thought and practice.
Sample Topics:
Sample topics include but are not limited to: Social & Liberation Movements; Black Radical Tradition / Freedom-Dreaming; Prison Abolition Organizing; Defunding and Resource Re-allocation; Climate and Migrant Justice; Disability Justice; Queer and Feminist Approaches to Abolition; Slavery and its Afterlives; Personal Narratives of Resistance and Refusal; Building Community Power; Reimagining Community and Care; Alternative Modes of Economic Sustainability; Intergenerational Traditions and Relations; Aesthetics of Resistance
1919 Guiding Principles:
Abolitionism
Anti-imperialism
Anti-capitalism
Internationalist Solidarity
Radical Political Imagination
We have designed three different funds within this program for applicants to begin imagining how they can utilize their artistic talents in the service of abolitionist thinking and intellectual/cultural production:
Writing Fund
The selected participant is to publish 2-4 original works of a combined limit of 10,000 words over the course of the summer. Published pieces may include, but are not limited to: critical essays & scholarly work(s), creative writing/fiction, short stories, and investigative/public interest journalism.
Amount: $1000 CAD
Visual/Creative Arts Fund
The selected participant is to create 1-3 pieces of visual and/or cultural artwork. All forms of visual and cultural artwork such as photo essays, comics, paintings, sculpture and graphic collages will be accepted. Please note all works should consider the guidance given in the program description for best practices.
Amount: $500 CAD
Curatorial Arts Funds
The selected participant is to curate a project that aligns with the guiding theme of abolition as outlined in this application, such as the following:
a zine
short film, documentary, or video
an exhibit or art show (can be digital in nature),
community event (can be digital in nature),
music video or performances
Amount: $500 CAD
(Up to $500 also available to cover potential costs associated with projects or events)
Eligibility:
Applications to the Writing and Creative Arts funds are open to all Black and Indigenous people on Turtle Island (North America). However, please note that preference for the Curatorial Arts fund will be given to artists based in our chapter cities: Toronto & Calgary.
*Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns about eligibility based on your visa or immigration status
Program Benefits:
Develop artistic skills working with a collaborative team of editors
Produce and showcase original work within a network of writers and artists who are committed to abolitionist thinking and cultural production
Publish and circulate your work with an emerging Black radical publication
Have the opportunity to expand your portfolio whilst also gaining and/or developing your pitching skills