Arts collective Neu! Reekie! have announced two new spoken word commissions to give an opportunity to artists who are facing hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic.

They are looking for two new poetry / spoken word pieces of around 12-15 minutes in length, touching upon the theme: Where Are We Now?, a theme which is to be interpreted “widely and wildly” and not just as a response to COVID. The standalone pieces will be performed at the Neu! Reekie! x Limited Ink showcases taking place later in the year,  circumstances permitting. Each poet will be paid £250, with up to £250 in production costs available for the performance.

Initial submissions should be a proposal for a new piece of writing, rather than a finished work. Neu! Reekie! can provide feedback and suggestions on this as requested. Successful candidates will then be paid £250 up front, with the writer retaining all intellectual property rights.

For the performance stage, applicants will be encouraged to add music, dance or film to create a multi-art performance and Neu! Reekie! can provide introductions to a wider collective of artists to help with this. They’ll also consider applications that integrate the commissioned work into an exhibition of printed or 3-dimensional pieces.

Submissions are open until midnight on Sunday 31 May 2020 and will be anonymised. For full details on how to apply see www.neureekie.scot or e-mail info@neureekie.com for more information.