DEADLINE: November 30th, 2021

Back like we never left!

We are now accepting proposals for our annual Poetic Justice Conference (PJC), taking place on Saturday, January 15, 2022.

It’s been a wild year, but we’re excited to host this virtual event for our tribe. Since 2013, The Listening has been hosting events and creating space for people throughout our community to come together to celebrate each other with performing arts like spoken word and poetry, dance, theater, and songwriting.Read on to learn more about the goals of the conference and what we look for in presentation proposals.

In the meantime, save the date on your calendars:

Proposals portal opens on October 25, 2021

The deadline for submitting proposals is MIDNIGHT on Tuesday, November 30th, 2021

We’ll let you know if your proposal has been accepted by the end of the day on December 10th, 2021.

Conference Goals

The Listening’s theme for 2021 is Legacy, so it’s only right that we center our conference with this theme. With all the changes that our world and our community has experienced after the past year, we want to ask the question through the filter of our mission:

This year’s conference is our chance to consider the impact of our work. Each of us has witnessed the power of the performing arts, whether it be dance, spoken word, music and songwriting, or theater. We want to ask: What do we do now after experiencing this impact? By identifying the space where art styles like dance, poetry, theater, and song-writing meet issues like activism, education, and mental health, we see opportunities for something amazing.

Our goals are simple:

Explore the community of Listeners who see how the performing arts can change the world around us in the industries of education, mental health and wellness, and social action. We seek to do this by featuring outstanding presenters and presentations and hosting thought-provoking panel discussions.
Demonstrate the power and real-time legacy of these performing arts with a diverse array of performing artists.

Who the PJC is for

If you are familiar with The Listening, you’ve heard us say this time and time again - we don’t do what we do for the sake of entertainment. Admittedly, it gets a little confusing when the arts are a part of what we do. The Poetic Justice Conference is for those of us who get it. When we say “it”, we mean what James Baldwin referred to as telling “the whole story.” This is for those who consume art because of the truth it tells and the salvation it offers.

With that in mind, let’s get a bit more nuanced with the following pointers.

For the Leaders and Learners:

We are looking for presentations from first-time speakers, professional artists and educators, and everyone in between. The impact of art forms like theater or dance extends across industries and intersects between practices. Whatever your background and experience, we want to hear fresh voices and perspectives, especially those from underrepresented groups and identities within the creative community.

For the Creatives and the Curious:

Maybe you’re a singer with BIG ideas. You may be a teacher with a background in creative and performance writing. We don’t believe in staying in our respective silos; we believe in encouraging folks to explore ideas across aisles and industries.

For the Bold and Brave:

When it comes to the presenters, performers and panelists, we are looking for speaker roles that include, but are not limited to:

Performing Artists
Educators and Graduate-Level Students
Social Justice Activists and Advocates
Pastors and Ministers
Social Media Managers

What we’re looking for

Getting Into It

The Listening has always been about using the arts as a catalyst for deeper conversations; we want the Poetic Justice Conference the space for those deeper conversations. We are actively seeking presentations that address the following topic areas:

We are only seeking proposals for 3 presentations or one for each of these topic areas. We would prefer to see talks supported by experience and research over theory. Similarly, we maintain our same energy as our open mic sessions. We will not accept or tolerate any proposals that encourage negativity, hate-speech, proselytizing, or political canvassing.

Read the Room

As you prepare your proposal, keep in mind that you are speaking to a medley of levels of expertise, experience, and professions. It goes without saying that there needs to be a discernible amount of relevance without making too many assumptions on what people already know. If your presentation relies on certain assumptions on what your audience knows, it won’t hurt to state it explicitly.

Workshop Elements

Please consider these workshop elements as you plan your proposal; we will consider these as we make our final workshop selections.

Workshop Goals: Identify goals for your workshop attendees.
Encourage Active Listening: Identify methods for active (participatory) learning versus passive (listening) learning.
Practical Tools: Identify tools for attendees to begin using and implementing in their personal and professional contexts.
Best Practices/Relevant Research: Identify best practices and/or research to promote community leadership.
Q&A: Allow time for questions and answers from participants.

Evaluation Criteria: Your Topic…

Can be covered in a 30-45 minute window. Presentations are scheduled in 45 minute blocks, including 15 minutes for Q&A from attendees.
Provides new information/innovative concepts.
Presents relevant, applicable takeaways.
Effectively engages attendees with interactive elements.
Provides clear and compelling titles and descriptions.

CAUTION: Presentation is not an advertisement or sales presentation. We ask that presenters limit promotion of themselves and their businesses to their introduction and their contact information on slides (if applicable).

Logistics:

If you are selected to speak at the Poetic Justice Conference, we will waive your attendance fee.
This conference is virtual, so items like travel and lodging costs are not a factor. We do ask if your proposal is selected, you ensure that you are in a location with a strong wi-fi connection.
If selected, conference presenters are expected to adhere to our Conference Code of Conduct.
You’ll hear from us with our proposal decision by December 10th, 2021.

Requirements for Panelists, Presenters and Performers:

All speakers will provide a high-resolution photo. Presenters will include topic summary, top three takeaways from your presentation, and a biography (or biographies of each presenter if it’s a collaboration) for our marketing purposes.
Speakers will promote participation in the event on their social media accounts.
Speakers will coordinate with staff regarding any special needs.
Speakers will grant permission for online distribution of presentation and supplemental resource material.
- If you wish to distribute copyright information in your supplemental resources materials, it is your responsibility to obtain the necessary permissions.

Seminar/Workshop Information:

Title (ex.: Hell Hath No Fury: A Brief History of Theater’s Relationship with Social Justice or SPIT: The History of the Cypher)
Description: (50-60 words maximum, for conference registration and program slide)
Extended description: (250 words maximum, including learning objectives and resources)
Session format (e.g., seminar, panel discussions, workshop, presentation)
One-page presenter biography
Track and topic areas to be addressed

Presenter Information - Required for each presenter

Name / Title / Pronouns
High Resolution Image/Headshot (no selfies, please)
Company / Organization
Address: Street, City, State, Zip
Phone: Daytime, Evening, Fax
Email Address
Social Media Handle: IG/Twitter/LinkedIn

You’ll hear from us with our proposal decision by December 10th, 2021.

Poetic Justice Conference 2022: Call for Proposals!