The British Council has announced a new opportunity open to artists of any discipline who are migrants, based anywhere in the world.

It says: “To celebrate the 20^th anniversary of the British Council’s Edinburgh Showcase, we invite practitioners to dream about the future with us in Imagine 2037, a festival of imaginary performances.

“We will commission six artists to write a short text describing an imaginary performance to take place on Arthur’s Seat, overlooking Edinburgh in 20 years’ time.

“Together, these texts will form an imaginary festival. We will publish them on beautiful cards, each with a bespoke illustration, and distribute them at events throughout the Edinburgh Showcase, which takes place on 21–26 August 2017 alongside the Edinburgh Festivals. We’ll also share them online.

“For artists, this is an opportunity to reach international theatre audiences and a chance to take part in a shared experience with other practitioners who you might otherwise be unable to work with. The imaginary performances are never intended to happen in real life, but to exist in our imaginations through the artists’ words.

“Why are we doing this? While we celebrate our birthday, we want to think about three things that are important to us: Edinburgh, artist mobility and the future.

“The founding principles of the Edinburgh Festivals are about providing a meeting point for people from different places to understand each other.

“With the projects that have been booked through the Edinburgh Showcase over the years, we’ve seen the value of artists exploring new cultures and new places. And as well as remembering the past 20 years, we want to look forwards.”

How to apply: find out more here and apply via this link

When is the deadline?
Thursday 18 May 2017

Who is eligible to apply?
Artists who are migrants: who live in a country that’s not where they were born.

What will selected artists produce?
Each artist will produce one text describing an imaginary performance to take place on Arthur’s Seat, overlooking Edinburgh in 20 years’ time.

What is the word count for the final text?
Maximum 200 words

What language can I write in?
Applications must be submitted in English, including examples of your writing. However, the British Council will commission artists to write the final texts in the language of their choice, and we will arrange translation.

What is the timetable?
The British Council will commission the successful artists in early June. Artists will have two weeks to write their text.

Will you pay artists?
Yes – the British Council will contract each successful artist and offer a fee of GBP 250 per commissioned texts