CALL FOR SONGWRITERS & MUSICAL PERFORMERS “The Mission Record”, a songwriter project

Mission Parks, Recreation and Culture invite Mission based musicians and songwriters to participate in The Mission Record, an original song project designed to highlight historical stories from the Mission City Record brought to life through the creativity of local musicians. 

This project reflects the significance of local stories and history of the City of Mission and asks that each participant create an original song to reflect an element of the history of Mission from the archives of the Mission City Record. 

MORE ABOUT THE PROJECT: 
This project requires that the four selected songwriters attend a 3 hour workshop hosted by the Mission Record and the Mission Community Archives where they will be able to find inspiration and direction for the piece they will create. This workshop will take place in late May or early June. 

Post workshop, each participant would then have 2.5 months to create an original song that, in some way, represents one story. Possible examples include a story about the agricultural or forest industry, a cultural examination of the Japanese Internment, and ode to the history of the Raceway or the CPR. The piece can be interpretive and a fictional narrative but will be anchored to a specific historical account. 

The commissioned musicians will get a half day in a professional studio (with an engineer) to record their work, and the songs will be premiered outdoors at the H20 Follies on August 23, 2024 on the Mission Leisure Centre grounds. 
For more information about this artist call, please email Melissa Kendzierski, Coordinator of Arts & Culture at [email protected] 

SUMMARY: 
• Call for Artists: Application, statement of interest and samples of original work is due May 1 to [email protected] 
• Artist Selection Announcement: May 15 

Inspiration Workshop: End of May or early June 
• Original Work Due Date: August 16 
• Recording: August 17-20 
• Premiere Performance: Friday August 23 at H20 Follies Summer Party 
• Compensation: Each selected artist (up to 4) will receive $1500 CAD; $1000 for the creation and composition of an original work, and $500 for the recording and live performance. 

TO APPLY: 
Please submit a written statement (250 words max) describing your interest in this project and in connecting creative practice with stories of Mission, along with 2 audio files (MP3, wav) of past original work. Work in any audio medium is accepted for application, but selected artists will deliver a song that is ready to be recorded by August 15, 2024. 

SONGWRITER SELECTION: 
The Selection Committee, made up of city staff, DBA representative and members of the Cultural Resources Committee will adjudicate the submissions. The committee will judge based on the following criteria: 
• Vision for using song as a medium for storytelling. 
• Commitment to attend workshop, recording session and to perform live on August 23. 
• Originality and overall quality of work samples submitted. 
• Interest in working within the parameters of the project. 
• Diversity of genres and lived experiences. 

GENERAL SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: 
• Please submit two original songs that represent your creative practice along with a 250 word statement about your interest in participating in the project. 
• The performer must be a resident of the City of Mission. 
• All submissions and final work must be family-friendly and appropriate for all ages and must not contain any objectionable words or language. 
• Final song must be under 5 minutes. 
• The final work shall not be used for commercial advertising or used to promote political or religious organizations or issues or viewpoints. Business names, slogans, or branded content are prohibited. 

COPYRIGHT/INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: 
• Any work that violates or infringes upon another person’s rights, including but not limited to copyright, is not eligible. 
• You retain your rights to your final work; however, you grant the City of Mission (and those authorized by the City of Mission) a royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual, nonexclusive license to publicly display, distribute, reproduce, and create derivative works of the entries, in whole or in part, in any media now existing or later developed, for any purpose, including, but not limited to, advertising and promotion of the City, any publications and its website, exhibition, and commercial products. The City may provide attribution or credit as feasible in the event of a reproduction of the submission; however, rights to attribution shall be required, and entrants into the contest knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waive any rights to attribution. The City shall not be required to pay any additional consideration or seek any additional approval in connection with such uses.

SUBMISSIONS: 
Email submissions, along with any questions or concerns to [email protected]