Three Rivers have teamed up with writer and publisher Clem MacLeod, founding editor of Worms Magazine and Publishing, to bring people in Bexley together to share their voice and opinions about arts and culture in the borough.
We are now looking for 8 members to join the club and commit to the following:
- To attend 6 online training sessions led by Clem MacLeod.
Each session will support you with the tools to start writing your own reviews of arts and cultural events happening within the borough, by introducing you to easy writing tasks that ask you to reflect on how you feel rather than writing as an art historian.
A Creative Maintenance Allowance (CMA) will be offered to all 8 members of this years Critics Club to cover time and expended associated with attending the sessions, to do some homework in between, and to produce a review for the next issue of The Bexley Responder for release in November 2023. The amount is set at £48 per session, £288 is the total amount available for attending all 6 sessions and writing a review.
Online sessions will take place fortnightly on the following dates:
- 7pm-8:30pm, Wednesday 19 July 2023
7pm-8:30pm, Wednesday 2 August 2023
7pm-8:30pm, Wednesday 16 August 2023
7pm-8:30pm, Wednesday 30 August 2023
7pm-8:30pm, Wednesday 13 September 2023
7pm-8:30pm, Wednesday 27 September 2023
Please ensure that you are available to attend all online sessions before applying.
- The aim of the Critics Club is to support each participant to produce a piece of original writing that responds to a Three Rivers project and that can be published in the new issue of The Bexley Responder for release in November 2023.
Reviews can take any format, for example written, video, podcast or spoken word. No experience or knowledge of art is necessary, just an opinion on what matters to you and what kind of culture is relevant to the communities you are part of.
How to apply
To be eligible to apply you must be an individual aged 16 or over and currently living, working or studying in the London Borough of Bexley.
To apply please complete the application form here or send by 12pm Monday 10 July 2023.
Alternatively you can us send a video of your responses to the questions (max 2 minutes) to pierce@threeriversbexley.org with the subject line: Critics Club 2023 Application.
Three Rivers and Worms will be selecting the successful applicants, who will be chosen on the basis of creating a strong group dynamic representative of Bexley.
If you would like this form in a different format or have any questions about this opportunity please contact Pierce Eldridge, Creative Producer at Three Rivers Bexley at pierce@threeriversbexley.org
All applicants will be informed by Friday 14th July 2023.
Three Rivers strives to be an inclusive programme that represents a broad range of experiences and perspectives. We welcome applications from people who are underrepresented in the arts because of ethnicity, socio-economic background and/or disability. For any questions, or to talk to us about the project please contact pierce@threeriversbexley.org.
About Critics Club
Critics Club is an on-going project originally developed by Three Rivers and The White Pube ( Gabrielle de la Puente and Zarina Muhammad) in 2021. The first cohort of Community Critics were Janice Aribisala, Valentina Simion Craciun, Maria Northwood, Nicole Omotoye, Agnes Otuedon and Dani Tagen.
About Three Rivers
Three Rivers is a creative action research programme bringing local people and partners together to work out how we can use art to make a difference in Bexley. We collaborate with the people who live, work and study here, to produce festivals, run radio stations, become art critics and stitch quilts. We want to create a new way of making culture in Bexley, by empowering local people to make it themselves. You can find more about Three Rivers via our website here: www.threeriversbexley.org or on Instagram here: @threeriversbexley
About Worms
Worms is a print publishing platform showcasing the work of under-represented writers working in underground publishing. Worms Magazine is a literary style magazine that celebrates female and non-binary writer culture whilst Worms Publishing works across form and genre to bring experimental writers to the literary top-soil. You can find more about Worms via their website here: www.wormsmagazine.com or on Instagram here: @worms.mag
About the Creative Maintenance Allowance
Our Creative Maintenance Allowance (CMA) is available to community collaborators working with us for three or more consecutive sessions on a project. The rate is based on the current London Living Wage of £11.95. CMA is inspired by the Educational Maintenance Allowance that supported students and those undertaking unpaid work-based learning in England between 2004 and 2010. It aims to value community members skills and knowledge fairly, as well as recognise that participation in free arts activity still has a cost involved particularly during a cost of living crisis
