After a long ‘ole run, it’s time for a break!

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SproutSpoken is an ongoing spoken word project that has played a significant role in activating the emergence of a sustained performance poetry scene across Cornwall in recent years. In simple event terms, it started at its spiritual home in Sprout Health Foods in Newquay and has since consistently popped up at a vast array of venues -  traditional and non-traditional, indoors and outdoors, at festivals or within collabs, to audiences large and small.
 

SproutSpoken’s guiding principle has been to celebrate “words on their feet”. It has coalesced countless people around opportunities to share and enjoy the experience of this, showcasing and developing a wealth of talent and confidence along the way. The project has also been responsible for bringing some of the biggest names from the UK spoken word scene to Cornwall and latterly also branched out into co-created immersive performances at unexpected outdoor spots along the duchy’s coast.
 

After seven years and over a hundred events, workshops and activities, it’s very much time for SproutSpoken to take a break! This is also an apt point to express a deep gratitude to all those who have been involved along the way - those attending, participating, supporting and championing the project since it began in 2017.
 

At the heart of SproutSpoken is founder, Dicky Souray. Whilst the project has been unabashed in revolving around spoken word as an art-form, Dicky has always maintained that, at core, SproutSpoken is really a means of realising a broader overarching vision… that of gathering people in community settings, helping individuals to discover their creative potential, offering experiences that bring shared joy and deepened connection, and raise the bar of contributions to a broader local cultural scene.

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Dicky’s own focus has gradually been shifting towards pursuing this (non-SproutSpoken-specific) vision with increasing ambition and wider scope, recalibrating his focus. He now finds that he is orientating his attention geographically to Newquay (rather than Cornwall-wide) with a commitment to helping to realise several large-scale, strategic and legacy-leaving projects for the town and its community. As well as exploring the role that arts, culture, events and the creative sector play in the making of of the town, he is increasingly involved with a wider range of creative forms (beyond spoken word) and, where possible, is also looking to pursue his own creative practise (beyond the facilitation of this in others).
 

With SproutSpoken taking a sabbatical, Dicky hopes to create space to divert energy to all of this… and is excited for the next chapter! He is hugely in debt to all those along the way who, whilst beneficiaries of the SproutSpoken project themselves - have also made it possible for him to cut his teeth and begin to forge making a living within the cultural sector.  If you are interested in finding out more about how this all plays out in Newquay, do visit Groundswell, which is Dicky’s new community interest company formed to coalesce, contribute and cultivate creative community in the town. You can also follow on instagram or facebook!

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Aside from Groundswell, as a freelancer Dicky also remains active and available to anyone who might value his creative or professional input across a variety of different modes. You can have a nose at his reflections/news and get in touch with him on instagram.
 
Meanwhile… as for SproutSpoken, this is a break rather than a farewell. It will be back in 2025 for the fifth iteration of the popular IT’S YOUR SHOUT! event, taking place at the Huer’s Hut on Thursday 2nd October next year. Pop it in your diary… and see you there!