WORT*reich Slam

This is what it's all about.

Even though poetry slam as a form of event is now established in Switzerland and especially in Bern, there is still a gender imbalance both on and behind the stages. At the WORT*reich Slam, FLINTA+ slam poets, who represent a minority in the Ü20 poetry slam, are offered a stage.

At monthly poetry slams from April 2023 to November 2023, FLINTA+ slam poets will compete in the classic slam format at the VISAVIS. The audience will be involved in the evening as a jury and will decide in preliminary rounds with scores from 1 to 10 and in the final by applause who will emerge as the winner of the evening. The winners and runners-up of the last two slams will be invited to the WORT*reich reading stage to present their literary material in a non-competitive environment.

The evening will be hosted by Olivia Elger and Jessica Brunner. Olivia Elger has been part of the VISAVIS team (bar, admission and artist support) for two years and Jessica Brunner has been part of the VISAVIS programme lab since 2022.

In addition, the two slam poets have been committed to more diversity and transparency in poetry slam for years. Through previous performances, moderations and event organisations (e.g. MuuZ Slam in Uzwil, Student Congress Comparative Literature «Literature & Europe», CAMPUS Festival 2019), they bring a broad spectrum of experience and especially a passion for FLINTA+ funding.

My project is special because ...

In addition to these performance opportunities, VISAVIS offers young participating poets additional support to facilitate their entry into the poetry slam scene. With their network and experience, Olivia Elger and Jessica Brunner are available to answer their questions and proactively inform them about events, Swiss championships and networking activities. In addition, the VISAVIS uses its own network to recommend the performers to other organisers.

The VISAVIS is an ideal venue for such a FLINTA+ slam, which should also focus on promotion. The co-directors of the Bernese art and culture house VISAVIS have been focusing on women and FLINTA+ promotion since its inception.
The poetry slam scene in Bern is very lively. However, there is no series of events that emphasises targeted promotion. In addition, except for one slam in Bern, all events of this kind are moderated and programmed by men. We want to redress this imbalance with WORT*reich. FLINTA+ slam poets should have access to the stage as easily and as low-threshold as possible.

This is what we need backing for.

In order to be able to act as a development platform, it is important for us to be able to pay all participating artists fairly. Various costs are incurred in the process: Salaries for the performers and the moderators, wages for technicians, prizes for winners, catering for the artists, costs for media work, programmes and flyers, room rent for the performances, wages for people at the entrance and for ticketing, and so on.

With your support, we are able to pay everyone involved fairly - unfortunately still a rarity in the field of culture and especially in poetry slam, where it is still common practice to perform for nothing but travel expenses.

With WORT*reich, we want to enable FLINTA+ people to pursue their art and be rewarded with money, not just applause.