Regina Word Up CIPS Qualifying Slam (+ BIG Prize)

Creative City Centre in partnership with Artesian on 13th present Regina Word Up at The Artesian!

Regina Word Up: CIPS Qualifying Slam (+ BIG prize)

Date: Wednesday, February 22, 2023

Time: 7:00-10:00 pm (SK time), doors open at 6:30 pm

Location: The Artesian, 2627 13th Ave, Regina, SK

Price: Recommended donation of $5 or pay what you can. (Cash)

* Sign up at the door or in advance (first come, first served.)

*19+ competitors

*All-age audience welcome!

*Performers don't pay admission!

Please be advised that this event is subject to our current COVID-19 policies, which are available at www.artesianon13th.ca/pages/covid-safety. The policies on that page are our most up-to-date policies and are in effect regardless of provincial restrictions.

The Artesian is wheelchair accessible, all-ages, and a proud supporter of positive spaces initiatives with a zero-tolerance policy towards hate, harassment, and/or discrimination. We reserve the right to remove any patron creating an unsafe environment. The accessible entrance is available via a lift, Please ask staff for help if necessary.

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CREATIVE CITY CENTRE PRESENTS REGINA WORD UP AT THE ARTESIAN! 

The pandemic encouraged the Creative City Centre to pivot and transform the Hague Gallery, the beloved home of open mics and poetry slams for close to a decade, into a production studio when safe in-person performances weren’t possible. The CCC now produces exciting digital content and professional development — check it out at https://creativecitycentre.ca/.  

We are thrilled to partner with The Artesian to use this beautiful community space as a backdrop for poetry. 

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The Canadian Individual Poetry Slam (CIPS) is back for another year! Regina Word Up wants to find our next artist who will represent our community in this well-loved national, individual competition.

If you win our CIPS qualifying slam, we’ll cover your flight and hotel to beautiful Vancouver, BC to compete at CIPS as the Regina Word Up representative. We’ll also provide a per diem for food and ground transportation.

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WHAT IS CIPS?

CIPS, or the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam, is an annual event where the best individual poets across Canada come together to compete for the top spot. The CIPS winner gets the glory, some prizes, and other potential opportunities, plus the chance to learn from established artists and build community.

CIPS takes place in Vancouver, Canada as part of the Verses Festival. (More information, https://www.vancouverpoetryhouse.com/cips/)

This year, CIPS takes place April 26-28, with the entire Verses festival from April 20-29.

NEED TO KNOW:

--> A poetry slam is a dialogue between audience and performer. It is a competitive event wherein spoken word artists share their work in a high-spirited, fast-paced environment to an often-uproarious crowd.

--> This will be a three-round slam with each competitor competing in each round. Each round will have a maximum time limit of 4 minutes, 2 minutes, or 1 minute in length, which replicates CIPS’ format. Poets will lose .5 points for every ten seconds over time.

--> Slammers should come prepared with three original (that is, your own) pieces that meet these time limits. (Poets will also need a poem that is 3 minutes if they compete at CIPS - please see more about the CIPS competition on their website.)

--> Note: You DO NOT need to create new work if you have poems that are already these lengths. You are allowed to perform pieces you've already performed in Regina in the past.

--> CIPS is an English-speaking competition. However, there are no language restrictions.

--> No props, no nudity, no hate speech.

-->You can sign up in advance (recommended) or at the door, with a maximum of 12 competing poets -- first come, first served! Email us at [email protected] to sign up in advance.

--> Judges will be pulled at random from the audience, and will each provide a score between 1-10 for each piece of writing. The judges will judge the poem and performance but not the poet or appearance.

--> No slam experience necessary.

--> Competitors will need to be 19+ for this competition.

--> We encourage audience members to engage during the performances – snap, make cheesecake noises (mm’s and yes’s), laugh, stomp, or otherwise make your appreciation known!

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GUIDELINES, COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS AND CONSENT STATEMENTS

At the Creative City Centre we always strive for inclusivity and respect in the community both inside and out of our facility, which is why we have compiled the following guidelines to remember both for our events and also in everyday life.
• We encourage respecting the way folks self-identify, without assuming gender, sexuality, orientation, religion, or ability.
• We understand that at times folks may need to leave or engage in other methods of self-care, and that’s okay.
• We encourage language that promotes inclusivity, education, and awareness and dislike all forms of explicit ignorance including, but not limited to, hate speech, racism, homophobia, transphobia, and classism.
• We encourage the culture of consent meaning we respect people’s physical, verbal, and emotional boundaries. This means respecting that some people might not want to be hugged and if you want to engage physically in any way with a person it is important to ask permission before doing so.

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Regina Word Up is a program of the Creative City Centre. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Department of Canadian Heritage, SK Arts, City of Regina, Creative Saskatchewan, and the Canada Council for the Arts that make programs like this one possible. We are grateful to The Artesian who are facility partners for this event.

For more information on programs and opportunities, please visit www.creativecitycentre.ca
For more information, please email [email protected]