Discover Young Hackney returns for a festival of free events to help young people discover the arts.
Discover Young Hackney, Hackney Council’s annual youth arts and culture festival, returns for a series of events to help young people engage in activities led by the creative and cultural sector and find opportunities in the arts.
The extensive programme of workshops, events and activities will give 13-19 year-olds experience in various sectors of the arts from theatre, creative writing, film, dance, design, music, carnival skills, digital and visual arts and more. The series will be led by inspirational industry professionals and will help young people discover career potential, meet new people and have fun.
Discover Young Hackney, now in its 13th year, has now been extended to March 2021 and will have additional online events in response to Covid-19. Where safe to do so, some activities will be in person with social distancing measures applied.
Highlights so far include a 10-week creative business course hosted by Urban MBA, who will teach young people how to create a successful brand in the digital era. Digital Arts Studio, SDNA will host sessions resulting in a large scale audio-visual installation to be projected onto local landmarks. Hoxton Hall will curate a Lockdown Capsule - an interactive movement piece to share young people’s experiences of lockdown.
Cllr Guy Nicholson, Hackney’s Cabinet member for Planning, Culture and Inclusive Economy said:
“Hackney’s credentials as a home to the creative heart of London has come from a legacy of nurturing new talent. Hackney is a centre for the creative industries that include performance, visual arts, design, media and creative tech. Discover Young Hackney opens a door for young residents to explore the arts and have the opportunity to realise their talents.
As we all navigate these extraordinary times brought about by the coronavirus, we recognise the importance of the arts and cultural sector and the contribution it makes to our personal wellbeing and our local economy and through Discover Young Hackney we can provide great opportunities for the next generation.”
Lead Artistic Facilitator and Coordinator at Hackney Shed, Anna Clover, said: “Support from Discover Young Hackney has allowed the Hackney Shed Collective to keep a sense of community despite being physically apart. Our summer project 'Over The Rainbow' in collaboration with Hackney Empire, allows members to maintain and build new friendships, explore creative skills and end this summer with a sense of achievement, having created an original film. All whilst having lots of fun!”
Young people can access more information about the festival and sign up to activities at younghackney.org/discover-young-hackney or by visiting the Summer Guide PDF brochure
The Discover Young Hackney youth festival is on now and runs until March 2021.
Follow Discover Young Hackney on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or visit the website to find out more on the full program.