It’s something we’ve known for a long time – there’s a lot of talent in our region but it’s not just the household names I’m talking about.
Thanks to a project called The Twenty, people who dwell in the city of Salford will be provided with the exciting opportunity to turn their creativity into a reality by submitting event ideas on the theme of POWER, the theme of this year’s WEEK 53 Festival.

The project developed by The Lowry in conjunction with Salford CVS is encouraging people to unleash their inner artistic talent and come up with events from graffiti battles to knitting groups, with each of the 20 successful submissions provided with a grant of 500 pounds to make it a reality.
The first rule of The Twenty is
you do not talk about The Twentyyou must live in Salford.The second rule of The Twenty is you must be over the age of 18
Organisers are keen to stress that this opportunity is for everyone, especially those without previous experience in the arts.

Lynsey O’Sullivan, director of learning and engagement at The Lowry, and creative lead for The Twenty says
Everyone has the capacity to come up with a crazy idea for an event – but life can so easily get in the way, be that time, money or space. This project is designed to break down those barriers.
But how does one submit one’s proposal? I hear you cry.
There are three ways:
- By email to Getcreative@thelowry.com (max 700 words)
- By post to Lynsey O’Sullivan, The Lowry, Pier 8 Salford Quays, M50 3AZ
- By video of yourself talking to camera, by email to Getcreative@thelowry.com (max three mins)
The deadline for proposals is Friday 14 February at 12noon.
More information about The Twenty can be found at www.thelowry.com/whats-on/week53-the-twenty
WEEK 53 is a biennial cross-arts festival which will take place from Friday 24 April until Sunday 3 May. More information can be found at https://thelowry.com/about-us/festivals-projects/week-53-2020/