Oldham Coliseum Theatre and Women’s Chai Project are pleased to open submissions to this year’s Khushi Festival taking place on Saturday 2nd August – Sunday 3rd August 2025. We are inviting five artists to work alongside five local South Asian community groups. Each artist and group will co-create a brand new piece for this celebratory festival. Artists will work with community members during weekly workshops throughout spring-summer 2025 to achieve this goal.
We are excited to present a range of work across the programme and welcome submissions from artists working across:
- Theatre
- Dance
- Music
- Performance Art
- Outdoor Arts
- Visual Arts
- Spoken Word / Poetry
- Heritage
- Participation / Education
- Podcasts
- Fashion
- Shopping
- Food
- Film / Digital
About Khushi Festival
Khushi was developed by the Women’s Chai Project and Oldham Coliseum with the first festival taking place in August 2022. The festival that ‘makes you happy’, Khushi is a female led festival of the very best local, national and international South Asian Arts and Culture taking place during South Asian Heritage Month.
Through a series of dynamic projects which bring artists and communities together, Khushi sees artists and community groups collaborate to ultimately transform spaces across Oldham on the first weekend of August 2025.
The Offer
Each artist/ group will receive:
- £3,000 commission fee
- £1000 for materials and/or discretionary costs subject to approval
- Dedicated time with and support from the Community Producer to coordinate the project and develop the work
- A guaranteed slot in the Khushi Festival 2025
- Physical space to co create with community groups
- Documentation support (photography and video capture)
- Artist support and guidance throughout the process with Khushi Festival’s team
- Artist passes for the entire festival, enabling you to develop networks, attend events for free and engage with all artists within the programme
How to apply
We strongly welcome applications from the South Asian community and would like our team to be representative of the diversity of our town. In addition, you must:
- Have a passion for co-creating artistic work with and for communities
- Have an interest in developing new work for audiences in Oldham
- Show professional accomplishment in your artform
Please send us a maximum of 2 sides of A4, or if you would prefer you can record your answers in video or audio format for up to 3 minutes. Please include the following information:
- Name of lead artist(s)
- Email address
- Contact Number
- Please state your artform and your professional experience
- Please tell us why this opportunity is of interest to you
- Please also include a draft budget of how you would use the commission and materials budget
- Complete a Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form, the details of which will be aggregated and do not form part of your application
- If available, please provide links to your previous work
- Please note – we expect all professional artists to be paid at the industry rates (ITC/Equity). Information on these rates can be found via these links:
Rates of Pay – ITC (itc-arts.org) - Please include in your application any access requirements
Send your completed application to Khushifestival@Coliseum.org.uk
Dates and Timeline
Deadline for Submissions: 5pm on Monday 7th April 2025
Festival Dates: Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd August 2025