Join us for an Open Mic to conclude Bloom 2022, in association with Spork! Poetry. We will be sharing the poetry from the winners of our Bloom competition, but the remainder of the evening is up to you!

Some slots will be filled in advance, so if you’ve got something you would like to share you can Apply Here!

We will also be leaving some space open for you to share on the day, maybe even something written in response to the day itself!

We can’t wait to hear from you!

Announcement! 

Headlining the Bloom Open Mic is our Bloom Community Poet 2022, Beryl the Feral!

Beryl is a seasoned writer, performer & facilitator. A champion for mental health and self esteem who is passionate about the power of connection, community and acceptance. She often facilitates writing-retreats and social-prescribing sessions. She’s an honest and animated performer, whose work has been published in various anthologies and by Burning Eye Books.

Ahead of Bloom 2022, Beryl will be collating submissions of artworks and writing from the peripheral generations: people over 60 and under 18, who have all been facing the challenge of isolation in their own way. She will curate the works into a celebratory spoken-word film about reconnection and community, to be shared on the day of Bloom Festival.

This commission was created by Spork! and is supported by Exeter Phoenix and Arts Council England.

ALSO APPEARING

Passionate about highlighting and fighting injustice, Plymouth-based Kane John Mills is a dance, theatre & spoken word artist whose work seeks to challenge societal norms, and uplift and champion those who experience marginalisation.

Exploring the mundane, the magical, the personal, the political, the micro, and the macro, his words are for everyone, and especially anybody who feels ‘othered’, unheard, or unseen.

VENUE: AUDITORIUM, EXETER PHOENIX

Join us for Bloom, a Free Festival of Mental Wellbeing taking place on Sunday 8th May 2022.