Hazard 2014 – Saturday 12 July – Manchester City Centre


Presented by Word of Warning, produced by hÅb + The Larks in collaboration with the participating artists, a greenroom legacy project

Proposals are now invited for Hazard 2014 (Deadline Friday 16 May 2014, 6pm):


A micro-festival of incidental intervention and sited performance, blurring the boundaries between art and activism… cheeky, thought-provoking and sometimes raunchy sprees of eccentricity…


Manchester’s unique micro-festival of all things bizarre and stripy returns for its fifth outing, and invites you to join in with its strange antics and ludic(rous) activities. So far we’ve wrapped Cathedral Gardens in fluttering hazard tape, pitted together a lion and a unicorn, moved the goalposts (literally) and witnessed flat packed children take over streets of Manchester – oh, and conducted a hoola-hoopathon; The Larks had the public riddling, racing and chasing as urban archaeologists and private investigators, injecting mass gaming into St Ann’s Square and beyond. To date Hazard has produced four micro-festivals of sited performance and intervention – over 80 artists have taken to the streets of Manchester including: Action Hero, Alex Bradley, Jordan Mackenzie, Juliann O’Malley, Katherina Radeva, Michael Pinchbeck, Richard DeDomenici, Shahram Entekhabi + the vacuum cleaner.


For a glimpse of previous outbreaks of hazardous behaviour see here.

In 2014 we are seeking to do it all again, once more incorporating playful interjections from The Larks.  

Think big, think bright, think irreverent!

Call for Proposals:


This year we are using St. Ann’s Square as our focal hub again, with projects happening in, or radiating out from there.


We are now looking for proposals of work for a daytime event (Sat 12 July, 12noon-5pm) in Manchester City Centre:

• work that intervenes in public spaces in the city centre;

• work that is socially engaged, and/or conceptually motivated;

• work that is low- or no-tech and self-sufficient;

• work that is interactive and playful – which could mean anything from street/urban/pervasive games to playful spectacles;

• we will give bonus points for creative engagement with the idea of hazard – chance, danger, risk, and/or use of yellow+black tape! 

In addition to the general call for proposals of work, there are also a number of specific opportunities: 

• one commission (small budget) for a ‘launch’ embodying the notion of Hazard, which focuses on and draws attention to the event;

• ideas for flash-mobs and/or mass participation interventions;

• work that is playful/interactive/participatory (both games and more loose formats welcome).


Hazard will be programmed by Tamsin Drury of hÅb, with The Larks team focusing on interactive/play-based work. We will select from proposals from this call and other research, to put together the best possible programme of work for the event. There are no fixed criteria aside from the guidelines above and the feasibility/legality of the ideas for realisation in the public domain.


Honorarium/expenses (£2-300 per piece) available, to be negotiated on an individual basis. Please include outline budget with your proposal. For projects needing significantly more money, please contact hazard@habarts.org to talk it through first.

To apply

Please complete the proposal form (and the monitoring form too if you can bear it!)

A couple of people seem to be having problems with the links so the direct ones are: 

Proposal form:    http://habarts.wufoo.eu/forms/hazard-2014-proposal-form

Monitoring form: https://habarts.wufoo.eu/forms/hab-monitoring-form/

It would be great if you could send us a link to video of your work – either things you’ve done in the past – or a mock-up or pitch of what you’re planning!

Deadline: Friday 16 May 2014, 6pm

The small print:
•    pieces must be the artist's own, original work;
•    the artist must hold copyright/ownership of the piece and materials included;  
•    artists must conform with statutory and local authority rules concerning health and safety, obscenity and defamation and any other licensing conditions imposed;
•    Equal Opportunities will be employed in the selection and programming of this platform.

To apply:

This year we are piloting a new online proposal form, we would appreciate it if everyone could use it, but if you have significant difficulties, contact hazard@habarts.org

1.    Fill-in and submit the proposal* (http://habarts.wufoo.eu/forms/hazard-2014-proposal-form) + monitoring forms* (http://habarts.wufoo.eu/forms/hab-monitoring-form)
2.    Send photos and supporting material by email to hazard@habarts.org or by post to hÅb, c/o Zion Arts Centre, 335 Stretford Road, Manchester, M15 5ZA