OPPORTUNITY: JOIN THE MOBILISE COMMUNITY & ACCESSIBILITY STEERING GROUP
Party-goers at a silent disco. Photo by Emma Jones.
Are you LGBTQ+?
do you enjoy dancing?
do you wish there was a safe space to dance outside of nightclubs?
are you interested in helping to create a sober accessible dance party for LGBTQ+ communities in Birmingham?
Babs, we are are looking to recruit a team of six people from the LGBTQ+ community in Birmingham (or the wider West Midlands) to form a steering group who will be instrumental in planning and delivering our upcoming project MOBILISE.
MOBILISE a series of raucous, joyful and radical queer accessible sober social dance parties leading to the creation of a co-devised public space processional performance which will lead the 2022 Birmingham Pride Parade, as part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival.
The Community and Accessibility Steering Group (CASG) will meet with the artistic director and producer at key points (approx one day a month) throughout the project to provide advice and guidance. Together our aim is to create a safe, accessible, and sober space for LGBTQ+ people to dance, socialise, and build their confidence.
Steering group roles are open to anyone who believes in the project’s aims, wants to support the project to be the best it can possibly be, and meets the following criteria:
You identify as LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual/Pansexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual etc.).
You are 18 years of age or over.
You live in Birmingham, UK (or the surrounding area)*.
You enjoy dancing for fun or have a desire to dance more often.
You currently experience (or have previously experienced) barriers, restrictions, or feelings that stop you feeling comfortable when dancing and/or able to dance in public. These might include:
feeling self-conscious when dancing.
Issues with self-confidence.
experience of ableism/ fatphobia/ transphobia/ racism/ or other forms of discrimination in social dance settings (eg. nightclubs).
feeling too old to go to existing nightlife venues.
physical access barriers (eg. lack of wheelchair accessible spaces).
not wanting to visit venues where alcohol is served.
financial cost of travel/entrance fees restricting your ability to go out socially etc.
Concerns around attending public events due to the covid-19 pandemic.
You have a good understanding of the needs and experiences of the LGBTQ+ community (or a specific group(s) within the community).
This could be that you have undertaken voluntary work, you attend or organise a community group, worked in an LGBTQ+ venue or organisation, been a member of a workplace LGBTQ+ group, or have experience in the community in some other way.
The project is built around three core values: PARTY, PARTICIPATE, PROTEST. Together we will dance in the streets as an act of collective resistance, mobilising our bodies into a force for joy and transforming the city into runways and discos, in a riotous act of celebration.
The project will be delivered between May-October 2022, with the final processional performance taking place at Birmingham Pride 2022 on Saturday 24th Sept.
This is a freelance position with a guaranteed fee of £1200 (based on 6 working days at £200 per day).
Deadline to apply: 10:00 on Thursday 21st April 2022.
Interviews will take place on Mon 25th & Tuesday 26th April.
To find out more about the role including details of how to apply, please download the Job Pack below.
