National Open Youth Orchestra to launch in Cardiff

12 Jul 2022

The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the National Open Youth Orchestra (NOYO) have announced the launch of the Cardiff NOYO Centre, a pioneering inclusive ensemble to allow talented young disabled and non-disabled musicians to rehearse and perform together.

The partnership offers the first progression route for talented young disabled musicians in the region. It aims to reduce musical exclusion and develop skills while increasing sector support.

NOYO is the world's first disabled-led national youth ensemble open to both young disabled and non-disabled musicians. The project aims to lay the foundations for a more diverse orchestral sector.

“Musical talent and potential are everywhere, but opportunities for young disabled people to progress in music are not,” said Barry Farrimond-Chuong MBE, CEO of Open Up Music, the charity behind NOYO. 

“We are extremely excited to be working with Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and BBC National Orchestra of Wales to expand the National Open Youth Orchestra and open up music to more young disabled musicians.”

Instruments played by NOYO musicians include the LinnStrument, Seaboard RISE and Clarion, an accessible instrument that can be played with any movement of the body, including the eyes. 

The centre will begin taking applications for auditions from disabled and non-disabled musicians aged 11 to 25 in March next year, with rehearsals due to begin in September 2023. Participation will be free and will include monthly rehearsals and one-to-one tuition.

“There aren’t other youth orchestras who are as passionate about showing disabled people can play on the same stages as non-disabled people,” said NOYO harpist Holli Pandit.

“Lots of the music we play, you wouldn't really get that in a stereotypical classical music concert – you wouldn’t have the instruments! We believe that it's best if disabled and non-disabled musicians can integrate together, and then we can come up with fresh new ideas and be more creative.” 
 

The value of everyday creativity

11 Jul 2022

What is the impact and value of everyday creativity in the home and community settings? John Wright and Jo Hunter reflect on what the research tells us.

Young people curate exhibition at Ulster Museum

05 Jul 2022

Young people aged 16 to 25 have helped to curate a new exhibition at Ulster Museum in Belfast, assembling objects that represent their experiences, interests and opinions.

The exhibition was spearheaded by Reimagine Remake Replay, a creative programme that has connected over 4,000 young people with heritage through creative media and the latest digital technologies. It is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Kick the Dust programme.

A group of young people who have been active in the programme were selected to work on the exhibition Power to the Young People. 

The exhibition is based on themes including climate justice, arts and wellbeing and LGBTQIA+ rights, which developed naturally as a reflection of the priorities, interests and concerns of the young co-curators. It took a year to put together and features creative activities and digital interactives including a VR experience, a bespoke AR app and projection mapping.

“The programme recognises that this age group is under-served within heritage and within museums, so, for us being here is not just about the content, it’s also about changing the experience,” Niamh Kelly, Project Assistant and Youth Ambassador for Reimagine Remake Replay, told the Belfast Telegraph.

“It’s about making it more of a space that reflects young people, where they actually can see something that not just appeals to them, but speaks to them and is something that they want to get involved in.”

Performing arts programme 'could provide £3.3bn boost for economy'

Children jumping
04 Jul 2022

Study finds that every £1 spent on a primary school performing arts programme generates up to £32 in long-term socioeconomic returns.

We’re all astronauts, but some of us need more space

Children supporting a model globe
22 Jun 2022

Cultural experiences - as offered by Our Place in Space - are vital for youngsters with special educational needs. Dan Byrne, an SEN teacher, suggests more can be done to make them accessible and fulfilling. 

Edinburgh’s first Deaf Festival set for August

20 Jun 2022

The first Edinburgh Deaf Festival will take place from 12 -19 August.

Organised by Deaf Action, with the support of Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, the festival is the first of its kind to be held in Scotland. Its organisation, production, shows and events are all deaf-led and it is scheduled to feature drama, magic, comedy, cabaret, tours, exhibitions, workshops, book clubs and a deaf rave.

Performances will include a mix of deaf and hearing artists and will be interpreted and captioned to be inclusive for hearing people as well as the deaf and hard of hearing.

“The festival will be a real celebration of our language, culture, heritage and the variety of people that make up our community,” said Deaf Action CEO Philip Gerrard.

Fringe CEO Shona McCarthy said “the Edinburgh Fringe is really proud to be associated with the first deaf festival in Scotland”.

“I think this is something that’s going to continue into the future and I hope it becomes an annual addition to the festivals landscape,” she said.

Vision for future of music libraries published

15 Jun 2022

A paper outlining a vision for the future of music libraries has been published by an alliance of music organisations.

The Music Libraries Trust, Making Music and the UK and Ireland branch of the International Association of Music Librarians hope Music libraries in the UK: a vision for the future can help protect access to and sustainability of music resources.

The public library network has been traditionally the largest and most cost-effective provider of sheet music, but they have been impacted by local authority budget cuts over the last 20 years.

The paper states that every music group should have access to printed music and recommends creating a national steering group, consisting of funders, operators and users, to explore how to integrate services and resources at a national level, and safeguard material when a local service closes.

Making Music CEO Barbara Eifler says work with local authorities and service provides has shown its is possible to “ensure a future for music libraries while relieving under-resourced local authorities of all or most of the financial burden”.

“We look forward to this vision opening up a conversation which will benefit all parties in the longer term and underpin the thriving community music scene for which the UK is rightly known.”

Rural art projects in Northern Ireland get £1.5m boost

Young people taking part in workshops run by arts organisation Glasgowbury
13 Jun 2022

New art fund launches to address needs of local rural communities as they emerge from the global Covid-19 pandemic.

My Gurus: Be the change you want to see

24 May 2022

Founded in 2000, Slung Low is a theatre company based at the Holbeck in Leeds – Britain’s oldest working men’s club. Its Artistic Director, Alan Lane pays tribute to the people who have inspired him.

NHS funds stand-up comedy course for men at risk of suicide

11 May 2022

A course teaching stand-up comedy skills to people suffering from mental illness, postnatal depression, anxiety and PTSD is being socially prescribed by the NHS.

Comedy On Referral, which previously ran a successful six-week course in Bristol for trauma survivors, has been awarded funding by the NHS to help men at risk of suicide in London.

Founder Angie Belcher was awarded a grant this week from the North West London Integrated Care System, which works across 10 NHS trusts and eight London boroughs to reduce suicides. She will work with psychologists to help up to 20 men deemed to be at risk of suicide.

Belcher said that stand-up comedy exercises and games can be used to process trauma and take control of personal narratives.

“I’ve taught comedy for 10 years, and students often told me how much stronger, more resilient and happier they were after exploring their personal histories through stand-up comedy,” she said.

The course is the result of a year-long research project on the effects of comedy as a therapeutic tool.

Patients referred by the NHS will create a five-minute stand-up set based on their personal stories. A performance for at least 100 people will be organised at the end of the course.

Citizens’ assembly demands culture-filled future for Coventry

members of Coventry's citizens’ assembly
06 May 2022

Recommendations including more public artworks and neighbourhood creative hubs aim to contribute to the City of Culture's legacy.

Festival commissions homeless for operas 

27 Apr 2022

A new year-long festival will encourage artists and audiences to view their cities through the eyes of their homeless residents.

Streetwise Opera will commission nine composers, three choreographers, three designers and a filmmaker to work with more than 200 people who have been homeless for the festival, titled Re:sound. 

Working in London, Nottingham and Manchester, they aim to co-create nine micro-operas to be performed in March 2023.

The charity is partnering with organisations that address homelessness to expand its reach and create connections between artists and participants. Six of the operas will be written and composed in hostels and day centres.

“Staying creative is very important when you are recovering from homelessness, because it lightens your heart and inspires you to achieve more,” said Denise Alison, a participant in weekly workshops run by Streetwise Opera at the Southbank Centre. 

Streetwise’s Artistic Director Martin Constantine said the participating artists have “the ambition to reimagine the boundaries of opera and co-create work that aims to invite audiences, especially those who may think that opera is not for them, to rediscover their cities through a different lens”.

Creative People and Places restructure 'contradicts its ethos'

14 Apr 2022

Changes to the programme come after a "disappointing" couple of years in which those involved say ACE lost sight of its purpose.

Increasing cultural opportunity everywhere

yellow sunflower petals
06 Apr 2022

It’s a fundamental matter of social justice that cultural provision and opportunities are so unequal. Richard Watts argues something must be done.

BBC to air Sunday night performances

02 Mar 2022

The BBC will air new plays, concerts and book readings on Sunday nights as part of a programming shift.

Sunday Night Performances on BBC Four will "cement its status as the home of performance", the broadcaster says.

A Welsh comedy from Theatr Clywd, Nitin Sawhney's piece for Coventry City of Culture, and performances from the Royal Shakespeare Company and Shakespeare's Globe are among the programmes scheduled from April.

An eight-part series for BBC Two and iPlayer, The Art That Made Us, will explore significant UK artworks in partnership with a nationwide "festival".

Museums, galleries, libraries and archives will hold events inspired by the objects as their stories are told on television next month.

UNBOXED launches first event

02 Mar 2022

UNBOXED, the 2022 festival of creativity and innovation, has launched its first event in Scotland.

About Us, a multimedia projection and performance artwork celebrating "our place in the universe and the connections between us", is the first of 10 creative projects commissioned for the festival.

Lead creative partner 59 Productions is presenting About Us in Paisley before moving on to Derry, Caenarfon, Luton and Hull. Alongside the nighttime shows, daytime installations and workshops will extend the project's reach to children and young people.

Nine more commissions will be experienced across 80 sites and through digital and broadcast media throughout 2022.

Higher education lends support to LEEDS 2023

22 Feb 2022

The University of Leeds and Leeds Beckett University will lead a strand of the LEEDS 2023 programme with the support of other local educators.

Leeds Trinity University, Leeds Arts University, Northern School of Contemporary Dance and Luminate Education Group have also signed on to be "gold partners", offering events and opportunities to participate in the placemaking festival.

LEEDS 2023 Creative Director Kully Thirai said the partnerships aim to show that Leeds is "an exceptional city for anyone that wants a creative education".

"We will work with our education partners to create opportunities for those already studying in the city to be part of something that’s one-in-generation, and to attract more young talent to study, work and continue to create here."

Leeds University's involvement was first announced last year. It is working to establish a National Poetry Centre that will host several LEEDS 2023 activities and events.

Vice-Chancellor Simone Buitendijk said its Cultural Institute, which is leading on the project, will foster collaborations between the city's creative sectors and its students.

Value co-creation key to levelling up

14 Feb 2022

A 'simple but radical' approach to co-creating arts offers a way to move from project to programme to true partnership, academics say.

Kaunas begins year as European Capital of Culture

20 Jan 2022

The Lithuanian city of Kaunas marks the start of its year as European Capital of Culture this weekend with an "awe-inspiring" artistic display.

City districts will host an opening ceremony in which 'circles of light' rituals, giant video projections and musical performances form part of a festival for awakening a mythical beast.

Participants are invited to track the beast in a puzzle game, with the first 1,000 winners receiving special prizes.

More than 40 festivals are planned over the coming year, as well as 60 exhibitions and more than 250 concerts.

There are no creative ‘cold spots’

Members of an orchestra play the steel drums at a church
19 Jan 2022

Co-creation is often about professionals ‘inviting people in’. But, as Barbara Eifler argues, communities do not need to be organised - they are already doing it for themselves.

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