Exeunt, A Younger Theatre… many independent theatre magazines are closing because they can’t pay their writers or work sustainably. It’s why we are launching this Crowdfunder campaign, to raise £2,000 to support our Arts Council application. This application will be instrumental to our future; not only will it ensure we can start paying our writers, it will enable us to be a more sustainable independent magazine.
About us and why we’re raising money
Dance art journal is a collective of eight writers dedicated to writing about the world of independent dance and performance art.
And why do we matter? Mainstream press predominantly covers the work of established companies but we believe this is only a fraction of what being a dancer in the 21st century looks like. This is why dance art journal began: to give voice to the wealth of independent dance work that is produced, performed and toured throughout the UK and beyond.
The journal is having its 3 year anniversary in early March 2022 and this marks a new beginning for our team. Up until now we have been doing this voluntarily, writing for more than 190 different artists, interviewing them about their practice and reviewing their work. Such is our impact, in 2019 we were nominated for a One Dance UK award for our work.
We believe that it is now time we start paying our team members a fair wage for their work…
Testimonials
“Being interviewed by DAJ was a wonderful experience to explore my process and be in meaningful conversation. I so appreciate the wide breadth of writings that are published to represent many voices and identities. I would love to see DAJ more widely disseminated because I think the work in dance writing that is happening is important and has the potential to shape, challenge, and evolve the field of dance writing.” – Bhumi Patel
“DAJ have been an exceptional force within the sector. Their write ups have supported my practice as a neurodivergent artist to articulate the works I am creating in a way that related to the wider dance community. DAJ, has enabled my advocacy work in dance to be platformed and therefore discussed amongst my peers.” – Elizabeth Rose Arifien
What will we do with the money?
So this is where we need your help! We hope to apply for funding so that by autumn 2022 our journal will be able to run sustainably. With your support in this fundraiser we will have higher chances of succeeding in our grant application. Below you can find more details about how we are planning to spend the money from this fundraiser:
With 2000£ we will be able to:
- Pay all of our writers for two pieces of writing
- Pay one of our team members for two months of administrative work
With 3000£ we will be able to:
- Pay all of our writers for two pieces of writing
- Pay two of our team members for two months of administrative work
- Fund an embedded writing project in support of an independent dance artist
Support our Crowdfunder and get our zine for free!
We know times are hard so we are extra grateful if you can support us build towards a fairer labour system for our team and to survive as independent arts journalists. To show you our gratitude, all donations no matter the amount will receive a free digital copy of our poetry zine “Lines Curves Galaxies”.
With warmth,
dance art journal team
* We would also like to thank our external writers that have periodically contributed reviews, the more we grow the more we are hoping to encompass you at the core of DAJ. All this would also not have been possible without the generous support of our patrons, whose support has been helping us maintain our website domain and with other administrative costs
If you’d like to donate please visit our Crowdfunder!