Morecambe Poetry Festival 2023

Funded on
05 Aug 2023

The Morecambe Poetry Festival will: bring together a diverse range of poets from across the UK; expand community involvement; hold an industry conference; aid economic and cultural regeneration.

£41,020 Raised of £40,797

35 Backers

100%

Costs

Poets bursaries @ £250 for 32 poets from across the country £8,000
Headliners £8,000
Winter gardens hire £3,600
BOOKS PRINTING £4 per copy £2,000
Workshops £2,000
Promo events ( plus dj's and earphones) £2,000
Volunteer development and training @ £200 per vol £2,000
Venue hire johnnys at 500 per day £1,500
Morecambe town coucnil fee £1,200
Pr director £1,000
Other + £8,475

2 x guest headline acts £1,000

Christian izzo £1,000

Catering £1,000

Video recording for streaming @ 500 per day x 2 days £1,000

Administrator costs £1,000

John hegley £1,000

Marketing materials £1,000

Welsh contingent 5 poets £875

Accomodation £600
Target: (inc. fees) £40,797

Our Director Matt Panesh is a Festivals Director, multi award winning Writer/Performer, Artistic Director, Producer, Workshop Developer and Leader. He is a Board Director of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (the largest annual ticketed event in the world). Matt’s vision is to re-connect the people of Morecambe with their entertainment heritage, by giving access to the performing arts and the health and wealth benefits they've been proven to bring.

Matt is based in the West End ward, in the top 20% of deprived UK wards with some streets in the top 2% tackling the exclusion of the working classes from the arts. Matt pioneered the Morecambe Fringe, which is now in its sixth year. This Festival has now seeded other regional festivals, including in Barrow, Carnforth, and Ulverston, leading to major regenerative regional arts development.

He runs Make your Fringe Show workshops for the community to develop work for these festivals and has set up the West End Players, a completely inclusive community theatre company which is just about to become CIC status with its own board. He has set up and runs the West End Playhouse which recieves touring work as well as provides a platform for the community to perform.

Matt also promoted John Cooper Clarke for the last four years in the area, laying the foundation for the highly well received 2022 Morecambe Poetry Festival. Building on that he's fostered relationships with the TS Eliot foundation, the Town Council, and Waterstones.

Over the last six years, Matt has worked with the local community, including people with complex needs and those who have historically felt excluded from the arts. We will recruit volunteers from our established volunteer pool, as well as the local arts community, with a focus on marginalised demographics. We will seek new staff through a combination of advertising and community outreach, giving preference to those who are currently under-represented in our local arts scene.

This project will give Matt the opportunity to develop his team further. The creation of the Senior Management Team will allow for the development of a leadership structure made up of Morecambe locals, who represent the growing arts community. This will be timely, as our future programming is growing.

Project Owner: west end players The Project Owner takes legal responsibility for receiving and spending the funds raised and ensuring the project is delivered.