The University of Bristol Theatre Collection is delighted to welcome applications for the £15,000 inaugural Forkbeard Fantasy Award to develop a collaborative work inspired by engagement with the Forkbeard Fantasy archive. This award is dedicated to the memory of Forkbeard's Company Manager Janice May (1953 - 2024).
Forkbeard Fantasy was an experimental performance group who saw themselves as part of a new and blossoming movement in art and creativity with humour at its heart. From their beginning in the 1970s, they were experimenting with emerging technologies while focusing on the themes of science, nature and the environment. As a small group of artists with different artistic skills themselves, devising the work together was central to their philosophy. After fifty years of multi-media performances, films, animations, performance poetry, street theatre, and interactive exhibitions, Forkbeard Fantasy officially closed shop in 2023, donating their archive to the University of Bristol Theatre Collection.
The Forkbeard Fantasy Award is intended to help support and sustain artists’ careers. It is aimed at helping collaborations of artists/performers to research, develop and experiment towards the creation of new work. The availability of Forkbeard’s archive to burrow into and explore is intended to inspire new directions and creativity.
Having undergone decades of experience of applying for funding, some good and some not so good, Forkbeard are keen that the process for applicants is as uncomplicated and fair as possible. Applications are invited from any and all collaborations of two or more UK based applicants with at least 5 years’ experience.