Calling all visual storytellers for
Broken Englizh x 3rd Wrld
Brief
Breath as a measure of life.
Tell your story.
The absolute raw controversial truth of it.
Breath is the essence & foundation to all that is living; it’s the very first & last thing we own as human beings. Where there is breath, there is rhythm, time, ownership & (in)ability. How is your life measured through breath socially, politically, environmentally, &/or biologically? How has your ‘breath’ been empowered, challenged, misconstrued, &/or (under)valued over time? How does it inspire or manifest in your artistic practice?
We encourage you to respond to the theme through the lenses of ethnicity, race, disability, heterosexist rhetoric, or perceived representations in order to criticise its relation to your identity.
Persons of Africa, Asia, The Caribbean, Latin America, and their diasporas are strongly encouraged to apply.
Expression comes to us best in our mother tongue, so we encourage you to write in your language of choice. An Englizh translation is also required!
This open call requires both written & visual submissions. Should you not submit any of the requirements listed below, your application will not be accepted.
1) Submit your story in 700-1200 words. Expression comes to us best in our mother tongue, so we encourage you to write in your language of choice. An Englizh translation is also required!
2) A list of misconceptions / ignorant remarks people have made at you, or about your identity as it is crucial to then, through your story break these stereotypes.
3) 2-3 High resolution images/videos of your work. It may be one of the following: multimedia, painting, sculpture, jewellery, film, animation, photography, fashion design, furniture design…
If successful, these stories will be selected as part of a wider narrative through an exhibition in London, curated by BrokenEnglizh x 3rdWrld. Further details will be shared upon selection of works.
Housekeeping
Formatting for your Story in Word Document/Google Doc:
File Name: YourName_be3wSubmission
1) Preferred Name for Publishing
2) List of Misconceptions/Ignorant Remarks about your Identity or home
3) Your Story, in your Language of Choice
4) Your Story in Englizh (If you have chosen to write in only Englizh that is also fully accepted, you don’t need to worry about point 3)
Formatting for your images:
File Name: YourName_be3wSubmission
1) Artist Name/Preferred name
2) Information on the work: title, materials (where applicable), year it was made, dimensions (width x length x depth)
Although we play the role of an editor, we believe in working collaboratively. we do not believe in ‘correcting’ grammar.
We are looking for all the ways people around the world speak, communicate & tell their stories in their Broken Englizh!
be3wopencall@gmail.com
instagram : @active.concerned.citizen
in collaboration with @3rdwrld.co
Broken Englizh is a literary initiative that collects & celebrates stories of raw cultural identities, written in first person, told in non-standard forms of Englizh, as spoken by international residents of the world.
3rd Wrld is a platform that highlights and empowers the work of creatives across marginalised continents such as the Caribbean, Latin America, Asia and Africa (and their diasporas).
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie says “the single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story”. This collection of stories is an effort to get stories from people whose story may never have been told before, either because they didn’t think it was important to tell or because others didn’t think it important to listen or read. It is the smaller, personal, seemingly insignificant stories that have the power to humanise, empower and repair the broken dignity of a larger people or place. We the ‘common people’ need to have voice & visibility.
Broken Englizh 