The Art Of Resistance: 50 Years of Banner Theatre
Banner Theatre is fundraising £5k for the "Art Of Resistance" project: Celebrating 50 years of Banner Theatre & working class solidarity
Running from Autumn 2024 - Summer 2025 projects will include:
- A two-day networking conference bringing together political artists from the UK and internationally with community activists, academics and trade unions
- Workshops & presentations that explore the role of arts & culture in campaigning for social justice.
- New touring shows, a songbook and an exhibition.
We are applying to the Arts Council England for a significant grant but still need to raise £35,000 in match funding from our friends and supporters in the labour movement. Appeals have already been sent to all the trade unions we have worked with over the decades and we are hopeful of raising most of that target.
This crowd funder is aimed specifically, although not exclusively, at friends, supporters and all those other amazing activists that we have met along the way – and those we have still yet to meet! Without your energy, compassion and belief that a new world is possible, Banner would not have been able to produce the amount of work that we have.
We do hope you will consider making a donation – no matter how small!
(And if you’re in a union then please ask your branch to make a donation too.)
"Truly inspirational" - Tony Benn
"Just what I needed to feel a sense of hope for justice" - Audience member, Sheffield
More about the projects:
- The Art of Resistance Conference in Birmingham, which will bring together political artists and theatre companies from across the UK and internationally with community activists, academics and trade unions to network, share histories, and creative & educational practices. Workshops, presentations and panel discussions will explore subjects such as the future of culture in working class communities; the role of the arts in environmental activism and anti-racism movements; building solidarity networks; and the importance of culture as a tool in both grassroots community and trade union organising. Supported by the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU)
- New Touring Shows: Our first show, “Battle Lines”, is currently in development and is a collaboration with the North Staffordshire Miners Wives Action Group, the New Vic Theatre, the GFTU, and workers from the gig economy and will start touring in May/June. Our second show will celebrate our extraordinary 50 years of collaborative grassroots theatre & music with trade unions and communities in struggle. It includes some of the wealth of Banner's archived songs & interviews, as well as new material reflecting contemporary social issues, and reinforcing the power of working class unity going forward
- Archival project: a presentation of photos, interviews and videos from our extensive archives
- The publication of “Class Songs” in partnership with the GFTU Educational Trust: an anthology of songs that have been performed in Banner productions over the past 20 years. Featuring lyrics, notation, images and the story behind each one, the book will be an educational resource for workshops that will explore the company’s unique collaborative methods of creating highly entertaining, multimedia, documentary, theatre productions. It follows our last songbook in 2004 "Singing The Changes”, which covered our first 30 years!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT COMRADES!
Photo credit: Betul Shaikh
Organizer
Dave Rogers
Organizer
England
BANNER THEATRE COMPANY LIMITED
Beneficiary