LEEDS 2023: Get creative to win tickets to The Awakening

GET creative to win tickets to The Awakening - an unmissable live show which will launch LEEDS 2023 Year of Culture.
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It will feature big local names in a celebration of Leeds’ past, present and future at Headingley Stadium on Saturday, January 7.

There are 15,000 tickets up for grabs in a special ballot which calls on entrants to submit a piece of artwork for a chance to win a pair.

They want your doodles, paintings, poems, beats, dances, films, riffs, sculptures, looks, shows and bakes.

A starting point - for your art work or ideas - is to use the blank back page of our free Waking The Artist In All Of Us four-page eMag, which is packed with information, and can be view online, downloaded or printed – CLICK HERE.

Don't forget to add your name and contact details. Take a photo of your work and scan the QR code, on the front or back of the eMag, to submit it.

If your submission is more outside the box, take a photo, video or audio file and submit at www.leeds2023.co.uk.

Or you can post physical artwork in one of the LEEDS 2023 yellow art boxes located around the city - see the list below or, for more information and where to enter submissions, also visit Ieeds2023.co.uk.

The Awakening, a special one off live show from the home of Leeds Rhinos, will be a celebration of the creative talents of Leeds and mark the start of a year that aims to ‘let culture loose’.

The work from people’s submissions across the whole city and beyond will also feature in the show, inspired by its directors’ belief that Leeds is full of artistic talent, creativity, and brilliance.

Hosted by local Leeds heroes, LEEDS 2023 chair and broadcaster Gabby Logan MBE with BBC Radio Leeds presenter Sanchez Payne, a Trustee of LEEDS 2023 and former Leeds United footballer.

Leading Leeds artists will perform, bringing surprising pairings and collaborations, including global singer- songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae, Poet Laureate Simon Armitage and band LYR, UK rap and RnB artist Ntantu and TV presenter, actor, dancer and the first CBeebies presenter with Down’s syndrome, George Webster.

Leeds 2023 Year Of Culture eMagLeeds 2023 Year Of Culture eMag
Leeds 2023 Year Of Culture eMag

There will also be British rapper and former footballer Graft; percussion maestro Inder Goldfinger; Leeds Rhinos legend Jamie Jones-Buchanan and musician, artist and songwriter Denmarc Creary.

Many more artists from the city’s rich cultural life-famous, familiar and forgotten - will feature in the show and draw on local talents with deep roots in the city.Kully Thiarai, Creative Director LEEDS 2023, said: "Let’s create a shared memory that, when we look back, we can proudly say. 'Wow, that was us. Together we made an extraordinary year happen. A year where we got to tell our stories, old and new, known and forgotten, in joyful celebration'.

"All that kicks off with The Awakening, a show only possible if everyone shares their individual act of creativity whatever that might be for them."

Alan Lane, Artistic Director LEEDS 2023, said: Those of us who work and live in Leeds know that it is a city of glorious culture.

The Awakening special guests include Corrine Bailey RaeThe Awakening special guests include Corrine Bailey Rae
The Awakening special guests include Corrine Bailey Rae

"In every household, in every community there is quiet, bright shining talent.

"The mission of The Awakening is to celebrate this in a world that too often decides that not all of us are important, but bit players in the epic movie of national news; customers to what others are selling."

* LEEDS 2023 is giving everyone the chance to claim two tickets to The Awakening on Saturday, January 7. All you have to do is release your inner artist and submit a piece of creativity to the ticket ballot.

Master of papier mache? You’re in. TikTok dance fanatic? Shake what you’ve got. Paint splashes, doodles, portraits made of pasta, Lego sculptures, bus stop raps, and cakes; photographs, videos and audio recordings of anything and everything can be submitted to The Awakening ticket ballot.

The ticket ballot submissions are less about the final product and more about creating something that speaks to you as an individual.

Submission deadline is Friday, November 25, when up to 7,500 pieces of art will be selected at random to receive a pair of free tickets to a once-in-a- lifetime experience.

Leeds 2023 Year Of CultureLeeds 2023 Year Of Culture
Leeds 2023 Year Of Culture

All the pieces chosen will also have a place in the opening show.

David Nelmes, the World Champion parkour athlete, and star of the LEEDS 2023 Letting Culture Loose film that marked one year to go, has already made a start on his submission with a colourful painting.

Others may want to share a photograph, like Jamaican diver Yona Roshen Knight-Wisdom has. The Olympic, World and Commonwealth diver submitted a photo of himself getting creative with his training during lockdown.

He said: “My time at school was where my love of sport grew. I was inspired by my PE teachers to play everything, try anything, and do it all to the best of my ability.

“Diving found me whilst I was at school, which has led me down this pathway.

“During lockdown I had to get a bit creative with my training, and decided to take a fun picture to show how much I was missing the water. My school saw this shot, and even almost 10 years after leaving, there was still an important enough connection for them to feature me in their magazine.

“Maybe this feature might help to inspire some athletes of the future.”

There is no limit on creativity, and LEEDS 2023 welcomes all entries.

You can discover more inspiration to get you started on the official website www.leeds2023.co.uk

HOW TO ENTER

There are two ways to submit your ballot - digitally and physically.

As a starting point, use the blank back page on the four-page eMag, which you can print off or download - CLICK HERE.

Unleash your creativity on the page. Then take a photo and scan the QR code on the page to submit.

Photo, video or audio artwork files can be submit at www.leeds2023.co.uk

If digital isn’t your thing, you can submit by posting a physical artwork in one of the LEEDS 2023 yellow art boxes located in the following places:

• The Old Fire Station, Gipton

• Middleton Health for All

• Voluntary Action Leeds

• NewWortley Community Centre

• Armley Library

• Reginald Centre

• Hamara

• Bramley Baths

• Kirkgate Market

• Leeds Beckett University, Headingley Campus

• Leeds Beckett University, City Centre Campus.

Grab a flyer from one of these sites, get imaginative with the space and fill in your personal details on the back to ensure you’ve a chance to get two tickets.

This unique way to receive a ticket is designed to showcase what Leeds is made of and highlight the artistic talent, creativity and brilliance of you, the people of Leeds.

So get creative and have a go!