NZ urban ethnic communities working with UK talent

People in Your Neighbourhood

NZ urban ethnic communities working with the best of contemporary UK talent

The British Council is proud to announce the return of New Zealand’s most innovative music project, People in Your Neighbourhood (PIYN) for 2011. The 2011 project will offer a series of creative expression and technique workshops featuring leading UK artists and musicians, as well as some of NZ’s top creatives and performers. It aims to explore and celebrate the unrecognised artistic and urban talent in all of our neighbourhoods.

From May to July 2011, PIYN will again be hosting UK music and digital media talent in New Zealand. Guests include Pacific Sister and original Pacific Island Renaissance figure Rosanna Raymond, an online music collaboration with The Roundhouse in Camden UK and NZ talent, the visionaries behind Bottletop (UK), and Akala, the man behind the Hip Hop Shakespeare company.

Rosanna Raymond, leader of the Pacific Renaissance in the 1990’s, will kick off the PIYN project on May 4. Rosanna has forged a unique career in performance, poetry, art installation and exhibition. Her Pacific Sisters workshops in May will cover creative expression using Pacific stories and cultural objects, and her visit will culminate in an exhibition at Te Papa.

Later in May, The Roundhouse (UK) ‘The Other Side of the World’ collaboration sees a group of UK musicians collaborate digitally across the world, with a variety of New Zealander musicians who will be based at the Red Bull Studio, to create an exciting online music project using tools such as Soundcloud, Inbada, and Skype to share, collaborate and create. An EP will be produced and the resulting music will be available for all to use at www.creativecommons.org.nz

July will see the arrival of Oliver Wayman (UK), the founder of Bottletop, who will lead a series of workshops and collaborations. Bottletop is a dynamic charity that focuses on designing and producing ethically sourced and sustainable products as an income generator for poor communities. Oliver will present these fundraising ideas and will also talk about the reaction they have had to their cross-cultural music projects, the Sound Affects album series.

New Zealand will also welcome Akala (UK) and representatives from The Hiphop Shakespeare Company in July. Akala and his team will present Hiphop Shakespeare workshops and performances that challenge the perception of language. He aims to teach young people ideas of cultural entitlement, but using something perceived as elite (Shakespeare), and showing its commonality with Hiphop. Akala will discuss using language as a means to break down cultural boundaries, as well as techniques for poetry and MC delivery and a series of residencies in association with the Auckland Council.

“People in Your Neighbourhood aims to highlight the creative diversity that exists around the world and I think this year’s line-up is really exciting,” says event producer, Gareth Farry.

“Projects like ‘The Other Side of the World’ are at the forefront of music and technology and it’s great to be facilitating these, as well as working with inspiring creative’s such as Rosanna Raymond and Akala.”

ENDS

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