Can You Hear Us? The National Gallery and Rankin team up to support the launch of Youth Music Week 2007
Issued October 2007
Youth Music, the National Gallery, photographer Rankin and the best names in British music have teamed up to support the launch of Youth Music Week 2007.
On 24 October, a day of workshops, masterclasses and showcases in the National Gallery will kick-start the largest series of music events ever put on for young people in England and Wales.
This groundbreaking cross-arts event has been made possible as a result of the collaboration between Youth Music and the National Gallery.
Young musicians and the public will be able to see, hear, and sample the best of Youth Music’s work. Workshops in six categories – Jazz, Urban, Early Years, Drumming, Singing and Songwriting – will take inspiration from the richness and diversity of the National Gallery’s permanent collection and the Scratch the Surface exhibition, to create unique workshops and performances.
The workshops will take place in rooms throughout the Gallery and will focus on paintings from 1250 to 1900. Six spaces in the Gallery will be transformed into aural environments for the day, each reflecting and interacting with the art around them. The sessions will be led by Youth Music’s qualified music leaders in collaboration with arts professionals from the National Gallery.
Places are limited to 30 children and young people per workshop, operating on a first come first served basis. Look out for further announcements regarding masterclass leaders.
Rankin has supported the launch by shooting a series of portraits of some of the best established and new acts in British music, including Faithless, Goldie, Hayley Westenra, Beverley Knight, Pull Tiger Tail, Lil’ Chris and Courtney Pine – all wearing the signature Youth Music headphones!
During Youth Music Week (24 October–1 November), Youth Music Action Zones – which operate primarily in areas of social and economic need across England and Wales – will roll out a series of taster sessions and workshops showcasing their work. From beatboxing to playing the oboe, there’s something to try at each and every Action Zone.
The National Gallery is delighted to be working in partnership with Youth Music to support the launch of Youth Music Week 2007, because this event builds on and develops our innovative educational programme for families and young people.
The event will provide a diverse range of opportunities for families and young people to be hands-on and experience the collection interactively through music.
The National Gallery’s collection and exhibitions represent universal themes relevant to all cultures and generations. The workshops and performances relate directly to the collection and have been developed in response to selected paintings in the permanent collection and the Scratch the Surface exhibition.
Organisers at youth music have said:
The aim of Youth Music Week is to attract and inspire young people to take advantage of our resources nationally. As the UK’s leading supporter of extra-curricular music-making, Youth Music is delighted to be working with one of the UK’s most prestigious venues to showcase our work and develop its relationship with the wider arts community.
Editor's Notes
About Youth Music
Youth Music is one of the National Lottery’s great success stories. Set up in 1999, with a remit to support music-making activities for some of the UK’s most disadvantaged young people, Youth Music has gone on to reach over 1.75 million children and young people, encouraging their talents, building their confidence and transforming the landscape of musical opportunity throughout the UK.
The music-making supported is of the widest variety, from hip-hop and DJing to classical and jazz. Youth Music occupies a unique position – distributing £10m per year of Lottery funding on behalf of Arts Council England.
Notwithstanding its success, Youth Music aspires to reach out to many more young people across the country. Its vision is to create a sustainable environment to channel young people’s creativity, enabling them to express themselves and develop their skills through music. The aim is to reach 3 million young people by 2010.
For more information on Youth Music contact Liam.fay-fright@youthmusic.org.uk or go to www.youthmusic.org.uk
For further press information please contact:
Natalia Yañez Exner 020 7747 2596 or e-mail natalia.yanezexner@ng-london.org.uk