Calling out to Prestonians for 2025 UK City of Culture

Calling out to Prestonians for 2025 UK City of Culture

May, 17 2021


The UK City of Culture is  a prestigious event which   takes place every four years. It’s a celebration of a city that has gained credible status as a culturally sophisticated place and highlights it’s continuous appeal in the community. 
 
Liverpool was deemed the European Capital of Culture in 2008. Derry- Londonderry followed suit in 2013. Kingston Upon Hall took it’s title in 2017 and this year sees Coventry being host for 2021. 
 
Now Lancashire is bidding to become the UK City of Culture for 2025. Organisers are looking for Prestonians to come forward and bring something creative to the table. 
 
The Lancashire 2025 vision is of a virtual city of 1.5 million creatives that uniquely connect across the county to reshape a better, more elaborate sustainable way of living across the UK. 
 
The calling card is reaching out to the following people:-
  • Artists
  • Cultural organisations 
  • Cultural innovators 
  • Social pioneers 
  • Curators
  • Producers. 
Director of Lancashire 2025 Debbi Lander, explains the concept of the event, 
 
“Our aim is to put together a ground - breaking programme for the Lancashire 2025 Bid. We are looking for new ideas, high profile events, creative projects and cultural experiences for a location in Lancashire - ideas that will bring our vision to life. We are offering up the county as a site for experiment at large scale between real and imagined, inviting proposals around our topics of living, connection, nature and digital”. 
 
Lancashire 2025 is open to everyone irrespective of their:-
  • Age
  • Gender
  • Class 
  • Marital Status
  • Nationality
  • Ethnic Origin
  • Disability
  • Religious belief
  • Sexual orientation
The programme for Lancashire 2025 will explore the way we live between the real and imagined to create the Virtual City of Lancashire. This will be a cultural environment using collectively imagined neighbourhoods, physical locations and shared virtual space.
 
A total of 15 selected projects from this initial call - out will be submitted and, if Lancashire is represented for 2025 will be awarded £25,000 development funds to research and develop their proposed idea for potential commissioning from 2022 onwards. 
 
Debbi Lander has these words of optimism following the news, 
 
“ We hope to set an international standard for the way we live; illustrating, interrogating and illuminating better, creative and more sustainable ways of living. Help us build the Virtual City of Lancashire”. 
 
 The Lancashire 2025 Bid is due to be submitted to the UK Government Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) - December 2021 - March 2022. 
 
For more information visit:- https://lancashire2025.com/ Applicants should provide their submission by 31st August 2021. 
 
^Alex Ashworth CCG Art Blogger