Call for Community dancers to perform with Movema at Lunar New Year 2026, closes 8 Feb ’26

Movema is a multi-award winning, registered charity based in Liverpool and Bristol. Co-founded in 2009 by four, ethnically and socio-economically diverse females wanting to unite people through world dance.

Movema’s community group are performing for their 16th annual Lunar New Year Festival in Liverpool Chinatown, celebrating the Fire Horse. This project will explore the cultural history of Chinese New Year and be a celebration of oneself, embracing that everyone is different but we are unique, special and accepted.

They are looking for performers from Liverpool’s community to get involved. Ages 8 and above, and all abilities welcome. There will be 6 weekly rehearsal available and costume will be provided for the performance. There will be opportunity to perform on stage and parade as part of Lunar New Year celebration.

Lunar New Year provides an opportunity to be seen, celebrated, listened to, learn from each other and challenge perceptions of the world we live in.”

They particularly welcome people from East and South East Asian background to participant this to share your personal experience, explore and create with us.

Rehearsal/ Class start 12th Jan 26, every Monday 6-7pm at 24 Hope street studio, L1 9BX.

Booking link here. https://movema.co.uk/liverpool-classes/

Event

They are looking for anyone that wants to have fun in movements, wants to build a community and people that like to express themselves in different ways.

Liverpool City Region Creatives / Performers – Sefton Council Big Top Commissions, closes 19 Jan ’26

Sefton Council are seeking local creatives and performers to be a part of the Big Top Festival program. They want bold, ambitious, and accessible work that celebrates the spirit of modern circus and engages audiences in joyful and unexpected ways.

They are looking for both medium and small scale works.

Medium Scale

A circus-based, clowning, or acrobatic proposal that can be performed outdoors to a diverse audience of all ages. The proposal can be for existing artistic shows, providing they fit the brief of circus, acrobatics, or clowning as detailed above. The performance within this proposal should last between 20–30 minutes and can be performed multiple times per day.

The total budget for these shows is £6,000 each. This does not include production. 

Small Scale 

A circus, clowning, acrobatic, walkabout, or processional proposal that can be performed outdoors without technical or production requirements and can be located in various locations across the town. The performance within this commission should last between 10–30 minutes and can be performed multiple times per day.

The total budget for these shows is up to £3,000 each with no additional production requirements. 

What are they looking for?

Artists who:

·       Have a track record of creating high-quality, ambitious, and accessible work.

·       Can deliver exciting, engaging work within budget and within a given timeframe.

·       They are particularly interested in working with artists from Southport, Sefton, and the wider Liverpool City region.

Process

Expression of Interest deadline (see below): Monday 19 January 2026

Shortlisting Outcome: Friday 23 January 2026.

Formal proposals due: 18 February 2026

Final commissions announced: 25 February 2026

Big Top Festival: 2–3 May 2026

How to apply

Please include the following in your expression of interest 

1. Name

2. Where you are based

3. Which commissioning strand you are applying for

4. Portfolio or website link

A5.  one-page document outlining initial performance ideas (if you would like to submit your proposal via audio or visual submission, please get in touch with Tourism@sefton.gov.uk

Indicative budget

Submit to Tourism@sefton.gov.uk before 12:00 on Monday 19 January 2026.

Artists / makers / arts organisations submissions – Culture Liverpool / Lunar New Year 2026 Workshops, closes 9 Jan ’26

Lunar New Year 2026 – Arts Workshops/ Family Activities

Celebrating the Year of the Horse

Call-out for submissions

Culture Liverpool requires several artists/makers/arts organisations to design, create and deliver arts workshops or activities as part of the 2026 Lunar New Year programme. The artist would be required to deliver the workshops or activities on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 February 2026 at the Chinese New Year Celebrations located in the Family Zone on Nelson Street, Chinatown. The workshops will be housed within wooden ‘chalets’, outdoors. The workshops and materials need to be appropriate to the location and weather. Lighting will be provided.

The event takes place on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 February 11.00am – 5.00pm. Please indicate your availability for both dates. 

In addition, they are looking for arts workshops to be located within Royal Albert Dock footprint between 14 – 22 February with priority for the weekend dates. 11.00am – 5.00pm. Please indicate your availability. NB: These workshops will be located on Salthouse Quay in the small wooden huts. There is no power in this location.

Theme & Requirements of Workshops

The workshops should be themed around the following: The year of the horse which represents power, beauty, and freedom in Chinese culture, the many traditions associated with Lunar New Year, Chinese/ESEA arts or the history of Liverpool’s Chinese community. They should be colourful, engaging, exciting and suitable for a family audience of all age groups. They should be drop-in in format and easily accessible, quick turnaround and consider ease of activity for participants given potential weather conditions. Thought should be given to the sustainability of materials used and the potential to result in litter.

General Requirements:

Costs should include:

  • All materials to be provided by the artist
  • Fees for artists/staff to deliver the workshops for the times specified 
  • Preparation time
  • Transport if applicable

All artists need to provide own RAMS and PLI.

Submissions to be sent to Maisie.taylor@liverpool.gov.uk by 5.00pm Fri 9 January 2026 with outline design, materials, costs, and examples of any previous similar work. Please include availability on both dates.

Any queries to sarah.vasey@liverpool.gov.uk / Bethany.sproston@liverpool.gov.uk

Book Artists – New Liverpool Book Art / LJMU Exhibition, closes 4 Jan ’26

Artists are invited to submit works for a new Book Art exhibition to be held in Liverpool in 2026, entitled ‘Where Artists and Texts Meet’. The exhibition will run from February 6th to March 29th. An associated book art insight day will take place in mid-February, with talks, workshops and demonstrations, to which artists are invited to contribute.

Context

This exhibition marks a new collaboration between Liverpool Book Art (LBA) and Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU). The exhibition will be held in LJMU’s Mount Pleasant Campus Library, which provides specialist subject support to courses within the Faculty of Society and Culture.

Theme for the Artists’ Book Exhibition

The title of the Exhibition is ‘Where Artists and Texts Meet’, prompted by the library setting and LJMU’s annual Library Fest which takes place each Spring and celebrates all things related to books, reading and libraries.

Examples of the range of artists books we wish to exhibit include:

• Those inspired by existing texts of literature or poetry. These would include works such as those exhibited in previous LBA exhibitions such as ‘Shakespeare Now’ and ‘Frankenstein 2018’.
• Artists book which include full texts or extracts from literature or poetry (including texts by artists themselves)
• Collaborations between artists and writers
• New bindings or settings of texts

TIMETABLE

Submissions should be made via Curator Space:

https://www.curatorspace.com//opportunities/detail/where-artists-and-texts-meet/10093

The final date for submissions is Sunday 4th January 2026.

Event

Submissions BEFORE the final deadline will be very helpful. They will be considered as they come in, with early decisions made as far as possible.

Writers – Free Playwright’s Programme / Everyman & Playhouse Theatres, closes 15 Dec ’25

New work is at the heart of the Everyman & Playhouse – and the Playwrights’ Programme is part of their mission to nurture, empower and champion the next generation of writers in Liverpool.

It’s a free, ten-month programme led by their New Works Associate, and offers a mixture of facilitated and peer-directed sessions, masterclasses with experienced playwrights, and watching performances – whilst supporting you to complete a draft of a new full-length play.

For more details and to apply, visit here

Closing date: 15 December

Join the Liverpool Royal Court Youth Theatre, opens 28 Nov ’25

A fresh, new, innovative and relevant youth theatre company based at the iconic Royal Court Theatre designed by young people for young people.

NO FEE, NO AUDITION, NO WAITING LIST! The Royal Court Youth Theatre delivers a range of opportunities free of charge for young people aged 6 – 25 from every part of the City.

If you are interested in a career in the arts or just looking for something to do, head along to one of their sessions or workshops. You will learn about everything from acting to stage management; fundraising to writing scripts.

Come and join them! 

Become a Literacy Champion for the National Literary Trust in Liverpool! opens 28 Nov ’25

The National Literary Trust empower people with the literacy skills they need to succeed in life. Together, they’re helping people change their stories.

As a Literacy Champion, you can run literacy projects or assist with National Literacy Trust events to support those with the greatest literacy needs. Once you register, you will be offered an induction session covering more information about the charity, the importance of literacy and the different ways you can volunteer and support our work.

If you would like to know more, please have a look at the information on their website  National Literacy Trust .

Artists presenting projects / ideas – Liverpool Arts Network meeting / Williamson Art Gallery, held 23 Jan ’26

The next Liverpool Arts Network meeting will take place on 23rd January 2026, from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM at the Williamson Art Gallery. SAVE THE DATE!

They are currently looking for artists and people who want to connect with artists who would like to present at this meeting. If you have a project, an idea, or something you’d like to share with the creative community, or if you work for an organisation and you’d like to come and introduce yourself they’d love to hear from you. This is a fantastic opportunity to connect with artists and let them know how you might collaborate or benefit from each other’s work.

Additionally, they have a few spots left for their Speed Artist Dating event. It’s a great chance to network and make quick connections with fellow creatives.

See full details and use the link to book –   BOOK HERE FOR FREE

Local Artists for Online Focus Group: Paid Opportunity – Tangram Strategies / Royal Albert Dock, closes 27 Nov ’25

The team are looking for 12 local cultural producers or creative practitioners to take part in a digital focus group focusing on Liverpool’s Royal Albert Dock.

This session will cover creative ideas for programming in the Dock, what collaboration with the local artistic community could look and feel like, who it could be for and the potential spatial challenges and advantages of the Dock as a hosting venue.

To thank participants for their time, they are offering £50 for attendance at the virtual session hosted on Google Meets. Remuneration will be transferred the day after the session has taken place.

Date: Tuesday 9 December
Time: 11.30am – 1pm
Location: Google Meets – confirmation of successful selection and a link to the meeting will be circulated on Friday 5 December.

While no advance preparation is necessary, some awareness of the Dock as a space is preferable. The session will be led by the team from Tangram who will guide you through a series of creative exercises and discussions. At the start of the session they’ll ask everyone to share something that makes the Dock special, you’re welcome to give this some thought in advance.

Event

To express interest in this opportunity, please email jamie@tangramstrategies.co.uk with two sentences about your artistic practice and/or a link to a relevant website by Thursday 27 November 5pm. They will confirm attendees on Friday 5 December.