Reverberate: Encore

RE-DISCOVER | RE-IMAGINE | RE-CREATE | RE-VISIT

In 2020, Reverberate funded grassroots organisations to run small, locally-based projects that enabled and empowered young people aged 11-25 to re-discover, re-imagine and re-create their local heritage through creativity, then share that vision with their communities.

In 2022, Reverberate: Encore offered new grants to 4 projects led by previous Reverberate partners to re-visit their projects and receive up to £3,000 funding, the Reverberate: Encore applications had to demonstrate some development of previous Reverberate activity, showing how they could explore their heritage topic, inspiration, or site in more depth.

Find out how the groups got on in their second round of Reverberate funding below!

Group of musicians round a piano looking at a mind map

Spring Beets - From the Roots

Thanks to Spring Beets thirty young people aged 8-16 discovered that their connections to the Commonwealth could be the starting point for a musical career. Reverberate allowed From the Roots CIC, and partners Birchfield Big Local and Handsworth Association of Schools the opportunity over February half term to develop a dynamic programme of music and heritage.

Based at Grosvenor Road Studios, a historic recording studio and creative hub, the young people enjoyed lyric, djembe and dhol drumming workshops, bhangra history, a tour of Birmingham’s Conservatoire, and the local heritage, led by Legacy WM and illustrated by Vanley Burke’s photographic history of Handsworth. The songs inspired by these sessions and written and performed by the young people are available to view here. Best of all we had a lot of fun.

Listen here

Group of musicians round a piano looking at sheet music

On the Trail of the Bengal Tiger - Grand Union

Commemorating the 102nd Birthday of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh.

This piece charts an exploration of heritage from the musicians involved through our local community and cultural leaders. The compositions and themes are inspired by the trail of migration; on the trail of the Bengal Tiger: it’s origins and new home of East London. The heart of the Bengal Tiger burns brightly in the musicians that migrated for many reasons and brought with them stories of hardship and joy.

On the Trail of the Bengal Tiger is a continuation of our previous Reverberate project, ‘Bengal to Brick Lane: Musical Roots in East London’, which explored the musical heritage of the Bengali diaspora, and related it to the post-colonial history of Bangladesh. Three of the young musicians taking part were of Bengal heritage, and their principal mentors were professional Bengali musicians who were themselves first generation migrants. They passed on not only their experience of, for example, the War of Independence that shaped Bangladesh today, and the role of music and musicians in that struggle, but also musical techniques from South Asian classical music and folksong.

Watch the video here

Illustration of shadows dancing on a staircase

Out of Silence - Carefree Cornwall and Cornwall Museums Partnership

For 10 weeks 8 young people from Carefree Cornwall met at the Royal Cornwall Museum. Working with a theatre practitioner and Carefree youth workers they formed and named their drama group; “Out of Silence”. They explored what heritage and culture means to them, through creative games, drama, visits to local theatres and meeting actors and artists.

Their explorations were inspired by the people, stories and objects that have significance for them both real and imagined. At the end of the 10 weeks we had an awards ceremony to celebrate their individual and group achievements. Each young person was presented with an Oscar and a souvenir programme.

The programme includes their own reflections and inspirations. (view the programme here). The group’s sense of fun, imagination, creativity and courage as well as the support and friendship they gave to one another was truly inspirational. Out of Silence was delivered in partnership by Cornwall Museums Partnership and Carefree Cornwall.

Step Your Way Encore - Funk Format Soul Rawkus

Portsmouth based arts organisation Funk Format Soul Rawkus took the Sailor’s Hornpipe as the heritage focus for the project. This dance originated in the early 1800s and was popular as sailors were the heroes of the times. However, this dance still has relevance in the Navy today as The Sailor’s Hornpipe is a drill the Physical Training Instructors have to perfect.

The young dancers explored how changes in popular music led to different dance moves evolving; some elements were retained while new ideas became popular. Through a drumming session, the young people were shown how the rhythms of popular music developed and were used by different dance styles. Our journey from the Sailor’s Hornpipe took the dancers through the syncopation of tap to the Shim Sam and the Charleston, onwards to the Twist and ending with the Hip-Hop and social dance of today.

Participants recognised that dance and music genres are not separate but linked to one another. The evolution of the arts is influenced by world events and people’s daily lives. In the end, the young people have seen how arts are directly related to a heritage site in their city, so intangible and tangible heritage are brought together.

Watch the video here

We are working with Sound Connections, one of our amazing consortium partners to deliver this programme.

Find out more about them on our Partners page

Sound Connections