{"id":13083,"date":"2019-02-05T08:25:04","date_gmt":"2019-02-04T21:25:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/?p=13083"},"modified":"2019-02-13T11:15:53","modified_gmt":"2019-02-13T00:15:53","slug":"submissions-now-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/submissions-now-open\/","title":{"rendered":"Submissions Now Open!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Last year I was one of a dozen passionate creatives invited to a council think tank about arts and creativity on Sydney\u2019s Northern Beaches. At the end of the night I was inspired, so went home and brainstormed practical ways to increase my community’s participation in the arts, since that was the council’s main goal (read more about the think tank itself in my post about ‘setting a vision for arts & creativity<\/a>‘). One of my ideas was to create more local opportunities for writers over 18. Young writers have an annual community competition, but there’s nothing for after they leave school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course nothing happens in life unless we make it happen, so a few weeks later I organised meetings with various stakeholders and told them I wanted to edit, organise and publish a community anthology. It would feature stories selected through blind reading, as well as artworks created in response to those stories. Those artworks and stories would then be launched and displayed at the local 2019 Arts Festival. The collaboration would be the first of its kind! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They loved the idea! Financing it was of course another matter. In my free time, after work hours and at weekends, applied for grants and sought private sponsors. I approached 45 different companies and organisations and was knocked back again and again. I cannot even begin to estimate how much time I spent trying to raise the money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, I found two wonderful companies with an appreciation for the arts \u2013 the amazing nationwide real estate One Agency<\/a> and equally amazing nationwide store OZ Design Furniture<\/a>, both of whom very kindly agreed to sponsor the project. My local Officeworks<\/a> were also prepared to pitch in. Yay! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then… the Northern Beaches Council’s Library Services<\/a> and Manly Art Gallery & Museum<\/a> offered to finance the entire project, and<\/em> help me run the whole thing. Amazing! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, the anthology is going ahead! In fact, submissions are already open<\/a>! And the theme is ‘Saltwater’ \u2013 which is kinda funny given my last post<\/a>! I assure you I selected that theme last year, before my harrowing day in the ocean!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Below is the pitch and entry details \u2013 please enter and\/or share them far and wide! Anyone with a connection to Sydney’s Northern Beaches can enter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saltwater invigorates and sustains us, yet destroys land and takes lives. It surrounds and informs the rhythm of life. Artists and writers are invited to create artworks and stories inspired by the theme Saltwater, to be included in an anthology celebrating community creativity. Successful candidates will receive an artist\u2019s fee and a complimentary copy of the Anthology. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Important dates<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n