ROH Bridge: Planning for A Bright Future
Posted on 29th June 2016 at 14:10
The Royal Opera House Bridge project works to connect young people with great art and culture, breaking down the stereotypes of inaccessibility and nurturing networks and innovation. The issue of culture, music and learning is vital to the future of education. In previous blogs we’ve looked at the value of exposing children to classical music and explored the ways in which opera companies can avoid alienating young audiences. We’ve also covered organisations such as Future Talent which provide opportunities for young musicians to develop their careers.
This month, instead of publishing our usual guest blog, we decided to showcase the Royal Opera House Bridge Conference which took place on 17th June 2016.
The conference, entitled A Place For Culture, which took place in the beautiful setting of Hatfield House in Hertfordshire, explored how we can secure the place of cultural learning in schools and communities.
Key discussion points included:
How does where children live affect their cultural opportunities?
How can schools make space for cultural learning in a crowded curriculum?
How does local culture contribute to placemaking?
How can schools and cultural organizations work together to stimulate learning around Heritage and British values?
Have you taken your place in the cultural life of your community?
Attendees included cultural organisations, schools, Arts Council England, Grant giving bodies, local authorities and cultural trusts, freelance arts practitioners and Music Hubs.
The day was divided into keynote speakers, workshops and performances. Speakers included Althea Efunshile CBE, Deputy Chief Executive of Arts Council England with provocations from Deborah Annetts, CEO of the Incorporated Society of Musicians, Jonathan Simons, Head of Education at Think Tank Policy Exchange and Andrea Stark, Director of Foundation for FutureLondon. The 3 provocations asked delegates to think about the current cultural, political and economic landscapes and where cultural education fits.
Key messages were to understand the environment you are working in, and a reminder that there is never a perfect time to launch projects.
Gary Clarke, Independent Choreographer and Artistic Director and Tom Andrews, Founder of People United talked with Althea Efunshile about their experiences of arts and culture with many inspired by Gary’s story. Gary came from a working class background in a Yorkshire village and is now one of Britain’s leading dance experts. Read more about his work in this interview.
Workshops covered topics such as Our Place: Building pride, aspiration and attainment through heritage, Rules for Rural – developing a shared manifesto, Place-marking: A strategic approach to working with communities and their schools, British values? Exploring a creative approach to the mandate for schools, The Cultural Governor – championing arts and culture through effective leadership in schools and Leading Cultural Learning – nurturing teachers as cultural champions.
A team from Hull showcased the work they are doing as City of Culture…
There were performances throughout the day from students from the University of Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire Music Service and the Pénte Ensemble from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.
The afternoon kicked off with a performance by the choir from local school, Countess Anne Primary School to remind delegates of why access to arts and culture is so important. Many of the children had taken part in the Hertfordshire Music Service Gala concert at the Royal Albert Hall earlier in the year.
To find out more about the cultural learning across the Royal Opera House Bridge region visit http://www.roh.org.uk/learning/royal-opera-house-bridge/spotlight where leaders share what they have learned, explore the varied challenges in cultural learning and showcase innovation.
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