VAULT Festival, the UK’s leading independent showcase of live performance, has announced that applications are now open for artists to apply to perform at the next edition of VAULT Festival, returning to London from Tuesday 31st January 2023.
VAULT Festival features 100s of shows from thousands of the brightest and boldest independent artists working in live performance, and welcomes more than 80,000 ticket holders to venues in Waterloo.
Festival Producers, VAULT Creative Arts, have been working hard over the past few months to ensure the festival’s survival, and VAULT Festival 2023 will see the realisation of many months of planning to ensure the best possible experience for artists, audiences, and staff. For 2023, VAULT Festival is changing its programming approach to allow productions more space and time to be more technically ambitious, whilst promoting a healthier working environment for artists and staff.
Since it began in 2012, VAULT Festival has become the fastest growing festival in the UK and is a significant landmark in the cultural calendar of the UK in the development and championing of new, early & mid-career artists. VAULT festival aims to be the most accessible, sustainable, affordable, and inclusive live performance festival in the UK, whilst showcasing daring, exciting and original work from new and established artists across theatre, comedy, cabaret, immersive experiences, and late night entertainment.
The deadline for applications for VAULT Festival 2023 is 8pm, Monday 18th July 2022. VAULT Festival welcomes applications from artists of all backgrounds and experiences and applications are open to both UK and international-based creatives. As usual, there is no application fee to apply to VAULT Festival, and no set artistic criteria – applicants are encouraged to propose daring, challenging and entertaining work across a range of genres and live performance types. The application call out is also seeking “hybrid” work that uses digital technologies to push the boundaries of live performance.
Applicants can choose from a range of bespoke venues including atmospheric tunnels, studio theatres, and site-specific spaces. Capacities range from intimate immersive spaces, to midscale spaces of 80 seats, up to larger-scale 180 seat spaces, catering for most budgets and sizes of production. Application guidance, including a downloadable version of the application form, are available from the VAULT Festival website. Audio and video applications are welcome in order to make the application process as accessible as possible.
VAULT Creative Arts’ Director & Co-Founder Andy George commented, “Since 2012 VAULT Festival has welcomed thousands of creative and hugely talented artists, from so many different backgrounds and experience levels, to showcase bold and original work. We were beyond heart-broken to have to cancel VAULT Festival 2022 – it would have been our 10th anniversary and we had lots planned to make it something truly special. For 2023, we’ve got some treats in the works to amaze and inspire audiences on our return. We’ve been working hard to ensure that VAULT Festival flourishes, and continues to offer artists a safe and unique space to platform and present exceptional new work, tell their stories, and make themselves heard.”
Artists impacted by the cancellation of 2022’s Festival have been contacted prior to this announcement and priority will be given to those who haven’t secured an alternative London run of their show since.
VAULT Festival will be running a number of support sessions for artists wishing to apply, full details of which can be found on their website as part of their detailed Application Guidance, available at www.vaultfestival.com/apply
