Curate
Over the past ten years, I have curated and hosted a range of creative writing stages, events and workshops for a variety of literary and music festivals.
For ten years I have programmed Phantom Laundry at Shambala Festival, a poetry and music stage claimed to be the ‘beating heart’ of Shambala, where over forty of the country's most exciting artists are showcased over four days. I also programmed The Phantom Laundry Workshop Tent, which delivers a variety of creative and explorative workshops, from beatboxing to beat poetry.
I am currently programming the Spoken Word Stage for Bristol Harbour Festival 2024, Supporting programming for Shambala 2024, and for the Live Poetry Book Club 2024
In 2020 I curated the Bath Literature Festival Poetry Programme, which included a range of established and emerging writers at various locations across Bath.
Festivals
During the past seven years I have curated and hosted The Spoken Word Stage at Bristol Harbourside, which sees a quarter of a million visitors. The Spoken Word Stage showcases around twenty five performers over two days and is free for the public.
Host
I also curate and host independent pop-up events on a range of themes. In 2018 and 2020, ‘My Artichoke Heart’ married food and poetry together, where fine-dining and live performances took place in various restaurants. In 2020 I developed ‘The Language of Loss’ and in 2021 ‘Scribbling on the Sky’ for Good Grief Festival, two events which showcased a range of poets examining their personal relationship to grief and loss.
During 2018 and 2019 I developed the 'In schools poetry slam' for Bath Children's Literature Festival, I have judged poetry competitions for The Roundhouse, London (2019), Bristol Poetry Festival (2018) and Lyra Festival, Bristol (2019/2020). I pride myself on booking artists from diverse, cultural, ethnic, class and religious backgrounds, who are challenging convention and offering unique and exciting ways to push literature forward.
I’d love to work with you
If you are interested in the curating of a programme for your event, be it a one-off or a longer term commitment, please do reach out. I would love to hear from you.
“Rebecca is an asset to the Bristol Harbour Festival team. She is always on the pulse when it comes to programming new and interesting work and her network has proved invaluable.
Rebecca really shines in creative planning with other programmers, her understanding of the work allows her to create links and ideas with ease”.
— Ann-Marie Leighton, Events Officer Bristol City Council and Harbourside Festival.
