Project: Vozes Do Futuro
Target: shannytales.near
Project members: @StevenR, @BlackCatCinema, @dabarroklyn.near, @CatiaCiriaco, Vanderly Neves, Lourenco
Event date: 1st October - 31st October
Hello Near community,
Are you ready? Are you excited for October?
Vozes do Futuro is coming in hot! A month long festival which will explore the origins of music genres: house, dubstep, disco, jazz & soul and showcasing the influence of the black community in music and arts worldwide. Vowing to amplify the voices of creative excellence in the black community by being a merger between the community, @arroz-criativo and other spaces with upcoming collaborations
Historically in times of oppression, stigmatisation, and marginalisation, the black community has banded together through music, food and dance.
All forms of discrimination are unacceptable and should be eradicated; however, time has shown repeatedly that black people somehow always ends up at the bottom of the totem pole in society. So how can WE be the change in which we want to see?
By ensuring the black community is not an afterthought in discussions when booking events in the future and by actively striving to be as inclusive and diverse in our
programming at Arroz, allowing for new doors to open to all.
Following Arroz’s 7-day programming schedule:
Monday/Tuesday: Black Cat Cinema with Independent Films, Live Panel Discussions
https://www.instagram.com/theblackcatcinema/
Panel discussions after BCC screenings led by anti-racist activists:
Amina Bawa, https://www.instagram.com/amina_bawa/ Mariama Injai, https://www.instagram.com/mariamainjai_/ Gisele Casimiro creating a space where the audience can freely express the emotions that come up during the film regarding race, politics and any opinions, anecdotes advice that can be shared regarding the film’s theme.
Premier black independent filmmakers from Lisbon such as Lola Arziki and Grassroots Filmmakers. ++(TBC)
Wednesday: Shillin’ and Chillin’ Session, Local Collectives Takeover, Dance Performances, Storytelling Events
Shilling and Chillin- onboarding workshop to introduce the artists to the NEAR ecosystem and the world of DAOs.
Dance workshops from local performers communities such as Finkape https://www.instagram.com/finkape.oficial/
Thursday: Live Performances & Jam Sessions
In-house jam sessions in collaboration with Ari, Vincent & the band.
Live performances from Synik, Giel ++
Wako Kungo Sessions will host another jam session!! Check out their instagram for videos from the last session on the 4th August!!
https://www.instagram.com/wako_kungo_sessions/
Friday/Saturday: Club Nights, resident DJs from Lisbon
Club nights from renowned intiatives such as Principe Records https://www.instagram.com/principediscos_verdadeiro/
Dengo Club, https://www.instagram.com/dengoclub/
Xarpi, https://www.instagram.com/xarpi/
The Blacker The Berry Project https://www.instagram.com/theblackertheberryproject/
and many more to be confirmed. We aim to book pioneers such as A Guy Called Gerald, Mr Stingray, Mim Suleiman & Maurice Fulton, Eddington Again, DJ Lady Brown & Didi ++
Sunday:
Street Market curated by No Bai, an online marketplace for black-owned businesses and a directory to map black business owners in Portugal. Will also include talks from entrepreneurs and with a variety workshops flowing through the different creative mediums e.g. photography development, candle making, designing with local designers such as Kahumbi,https://www.instagram.com/kahumbi_/ Mystic Virgo ++
Damara Ingles will exhibit her NFT alongside an art exhibition by Filipa Bossuet.
https://www.instagram.com/damara_in_ctrl/
https://www.instagram.com/filipabossuet/
Budget: $3,500 Artist Costs
Due to the scale of the festival and the amount of planning and expenses included we are requesting for $3,500 funding now to begin accumulating funds ($100 -Eddington Again remaining) to cover all artist costs.
Total costs to produce Vozes do Futuro will be around $20K.
We will be submitting 3 requests for funding working towards the ideal goal of $10k from Near.
Arroz Association will provide €2K and the remaining $8K will be from ticket sales.
We are still in the process of completing the full line-up of the month and once completed I will share with you a full break-down of artist costs. 
I would like to introduce the group of amazing souls who I am working alongside in bringing this festival to life:
Jay Graca, Vanderly Neves
https://www.instagram.com/van.der17/
Steven, Lourenco, Daniel Evans and Catia.
Community begins with the children so we will encourage them to be a part of the discussions; for honest feedback on what they enjoyed ( or did not), and how they would like to be supported by the team in the upcoming editions. Ensuring that every child who attends a workshop or an event during their time at Arroz knows their voice is heard and their opinions are important. Exploring community at a young age will water a curious mind and with shared knowledge and love that mind will bloom into whoever they want to be.
Vozes do Futuro is a long-term project and in the upcoming editions we will continue to strive for inclusion, diversity and decentralisation by branching out and taking Vozes do Futuro on a smaller scaler to the poorer neighbourhoods.
We hope to be able to provide tools such as laptops, mixing tables, and sewing machines e.g to children from marginalised communities in the future to give them the tools; to continue nourishing the youth and each other through shared joy, building long last connections with the black community and other creative spaces so we can all essentially win.
Thank you very much for everything you do for creatives worldwide!! If you have any questions just let me know!
Hopefully catch some of you at some of the events! 
Vozes Do Futuro Deck
for this proposal, well done 
