Archive

Over the last three years, Kings Place Music Foundation has partnered with arts and music organisations to offer communities in the area access to Kings Place, its concert halls and to professional musicians and artists through learning and participation activities. Below is a summary of what has taken place each year.

2010

The OAE schools concerts continued at Kings Place in 2010. Over 2000 students have experienced an OAE concert at Kings Place from schools including: St Albans, Richard Cobden, Argyle, Brookfield, Gospel Oak, Eleanor Palmer, St Paul's, Torriano, Vittoria, Copenhagen, St Andrew's and William Tyndale.

Kings Place Music Foundation hosted a second youth opportunities fair Creating Futures in partnership with Circle 33, Islington Council, Guardian and ISHA among others with workshops, advice and information on careers in the creative industries. Workshops included dance, costume making, DJing, drama, film, creative writing, animation and illustration, how to break into the music industry, how to market yourself online and set up your own event or business. 

The National Youth Jazz Collective made Kings Place its London base offering children and young people age 8+ who play an instrument at any level opportunities to learn jazz. The National Youth Jazz Collective offers a bursary scheme to young people who cannot afford to take up the sessions so that the programme is accessible to all. 

Kings Place Music Foundation participated in Open City's annual schools programme. Students tour the building with architects, examining the different features of the design of the building and use the information they gather in creative workshops which aim to inform their own design work. Here's what one of the students had to say: 'I enjoyed looking at the building through the eyes of an architect. It was a completely different experience when you look at a building in a different way. And the building is BEAUTIFUL.'

2009

The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment built on its work with the Kings Cross String Club by starting a string club for adults and also a string club at Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School. In 2009, the OAE also began a series of schools concerts at Kings Place. These participatory concerts included workshops sessions in school plus a participatory concert at Kings Place by OAE players as well as groups from participating schools.

As a continuation of the projects which culminated in 2008, the Visual Learning Foundation began a new series of projects exploring Kings Place now that it had opened to the public. The VLF worked with Hungerford, Torriano, Robert Blair, Thornhill, Copenhagen and Blessed Sacrament Primary Schools. Taking Kings Place as inspiration again, students visited the building to see an exhibition and created their own art in response to the experience.

Abigail Fallis, Pangolin Gallery's first artist-in-residence worked with Robert Blair primary school, extending her endangered species project which had begun in 2008. Students toured Kings Place, spent some time in Abigail's studio and as a culmination of the project, students work was displayed in the windows of Pangolin Gallery.

Kings Place was the venue for a youth opportunities fair created by Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association in partnership with CEA@Islington, Circle Anglia and Kings Place Music Foundation. The fair aimed to offer an insight into career opportunities in the creative industries. Young people from Islington and Camden were invited to participate in taster workshops including dance, music production, dj-ing.

Kings Place Music Foundation began a collaboration with students from the Mary Ward Centre Professional Practice for Artists course on a recycling project. Using the banners which hang outside Kings Place, students upclycled them creating bags, planters and cards. The products were first sold at the Kings Place Festival in September and subsequently at the Kings Place box office allowing students to develop business skills and sell work in a commercial setting.

Two young people from Islington were recruited to Kings Place Music Foundation to begin Creative Apprenticeships in Technical Theatre and Venue and Heritage Operations in partnership with City and Islington College.

The London Sinfonietta created the KX Collective offering access to high quality performance experience and learning opportunities to young people. During the Kings Place opening festival, singers from St Mary's Youth Club choir participated in the world premier of Opening of the House by Philip Cashian with Sinfonietta players and the Guardian choir. Young people from the Copenhagen Youth Project and All Change participated in events during The Art of News Week.

2008

Before Kings Place opened in 2008, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment had been developing education projects in the area. The culmination of this work resulted in the creation of the Kings Cross String Club. Working with Copenhagen, St Andrews, Winton, Vittoria and Blessed Sacrament primary schools, the String Club offers long term musicianship classes and the chance to learn the violin, viola, cello and double bass as well as opportunities to perform with the OAE professional players.

The Visual Learning Foundation also had been working with children and primary school teachers in the area. From 2006 - 2008, the Visual Learning Foundation worked with primary schools in Islington on eleven art projects documenting the construction of Kings Place. Each project included a site visit and students documented the construction of the building through drawing and sculpture. The resulting artwork was exhibited at Kings Place during the opening festival in October.

Pangolin Gallery's first artist-in-residence Abigail Fallis began work with students from Thornhill Primary school on a sculpture project based on British endangered species reflecting her passion for environmental issues. Six artist assistants, including students from the Professional Practice for Artists course at the Mary Ward Centre assisted Abigail gaining valuable experience working with a professional artist and arts education experience.

The London Sinfonietta worked with Copenhagen Youth Project, Islington Music Saturday School, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson secondary school and The Guardian Choir on four projects to coincide with the ensemble's mini festival Rock Music. Rock Art. at Kings Place. They also offered 20 free places to local children and 8 free CPD places to teachers on drumming workshops as part of Rock Music Rock Art.