SHOOT Festival Returns To Showcase Coventry And Warwickshire Artists

Some of the region's most exciting up and coming artists will be showcasing their work when SHOOT Festival returns to Coventry in spring 2019.

Taking place 4-7 April across multiple Coventry venues, the four-day festival offers an opportunity to discover some of the best emerging musicians, dancers, poets, theatre-makers and visual artists that the city has to offer, as well as a chance to take part in a range of talks and family-friendly workshops.

Launched in 2014 by local theatre-makers Jennifer Davis and Paul O'Donnell, SHOOT Festival is a biennial event developed with support from the Belgrade Theatre's Springboard initiative, supporting emerging artists and companies to create new work. This year's event promises to be the biggest to date, showcasing more artists, taking over more venues and featuring a brand new "In Bloom" strand.

Opening the programme on Thu 4 and Fri 5 April, Performance: In Bloom will serve up a triple-bill of new commissions from previous SHOOT Festival artists on the Belgrade Theatre's B2 Stage. In Never Mind the Horlicks - Tales of Punk Rock and 2-Tone, Nick Knibb combines hazy memories, poetry and narrative to reflect on his experience of growing up in the Midlands in the 1970s. Meanwhile, Sebastian H-W's Rebel's Atlas charts the impact of urban regeneration on local residents through a multimedia documentary performance. Finally, Susie Sillett's Cheetah Sisters invites audiences to consider the intricacies of inter-racial adoption and the ups and downs of sisterhood.

On Sat 6 April, expect free, open-air live music in The Bull Yard as well as a full programme of performances at Shop Front Theatre, featuring a spellbinding mix of poetry, madcap humour, dance and tales about witches. Look out, too, for Imagineer and Media Mania's family-friendly, interactive steampunk carousel Venture.

Then from 5pm on Sun 7 April, The Tin Music and Arts will play host to Sound: In Bloom, a night of live music from three genre-crossing acts: The Mechanicals Band, They Come For You In The Night and Callum Pickard.

Finally, viewers are invited to explore Other Worlds - a visual art exhibition showcasing a diverse selection of work by three local artists: Michala Gyetvai, Michael Snodgrass and Chidera Ugada. Expect large-scale tapestries, intricate monochrome drawings and paintings made using found-materials.

SHOOT Festival co-founder Jennifer Davis said: "We work exclusively with artists based in the CV postcode who want to take their artistic practice to the next level, and we're delighted to be supporting more artists than ever before in this year's Festival"

SHOOT Festival co-founder Paul O'Donnell added: "The Festival has grown so much since our first event. It's now an established event in Coventry's cultural calendar, and we're excited to be bringing it back in April."

Coventry City of Culture Trust's Emma Harrabin said: "With 2021 fast approaching it's great to see another platform being offered to artists in the city. SHOOT FESTIVAL has been gathering momentum for the last five years and it is another great example of our great city's cultural offering."

SHOOT Festival 2019 takes place from 4-7 April across various Coventry venues. For more information and full programme details, visit www.coventryshootfestival.com.

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