AudioActive's 2021 Newsletter š
A round-up of the whole year at Sussex music charity, AudioActive...
Seasonās Greetings and a Happy New Year from all of us at AudioActive.
Like 2020 before it, 2021 was far from straightforward, but once again our organisation has adapted and evolved in order to continue doing what we do best - and thatās making music and changing the lives of young people.
Read on to see what weāve been up to in the past 12 months, as well as our big plans for 2022.
2021 has been a year of extremes to say the least. Whilst the pandemic has made the immediate outlook uncertain and at times restricted our work, we've been working hard on some major developments to ensureĀ that when the dust settles - and maybe even before - AudioActive will be better equipped than ever before to provide life changing music making opportunities in a time when young people need them the most. - Adam Joolia, AudioActive CEO
The rise and rise and rise of ArrDeeā¦ š
One night not too long ago at The Rose Hill - that quirky 60-cap pub just off London Road in Brighton - Riley Davis, a young person excelling in our music sessions, headlined a stage for the first time. He performed to us, his friends and his mum, who kindly had this to say about our work with her son:
āAudioActive gave him opportunities, belief and more than anything, support. They undoubtedly helped dig some of the foundations for a brighter future.ā - ArrDeeās mother
Fast forward 18 months and ArrDee has had 3 UK Top 10 singles. The Winner of Youtubeās Artist On The Rise for 2021. Nominated for Best Newcomer at MOBO Awards 2021. Nominated for Breakthrough Artist of the Year at Rated Awards. Featured on Most Viewed Music Video on Youtube in 2021. Featured on first Drill track to reach #1. Featured on TikTok UK song of 2021. 307 million streams on Spotify.
And something tells us that heāll want moreā¦
Back into a rhythm once againā¦ š„
One of the highlights of the year was, without a doubt, returning to more and more face-to-face group work with young people.
As Spring and Summer arrived it felt like the good old days, with Bottega Rooms being busy and a new project to get excited about; Vocalise, launching for young women and non-binary folk in Brighton. Meanwhile, Room to Rant was stretching out across Sussex, and with the return of live music and the joy that it brings, there was no shortage of opportunities to savour those moments we all missed out on in 2020.
The Informals II Exhibition
In June, our charity was at the centre of some incredible documentation of Brightonās young creative scene. The Informals II, an exhibition and one-off live performance by artists Polina Medvedeva and Andreas KĆ¼hne, featured perspectives of our music leaders and the young artists they have supported down the years.
Thanks to Lighthouse for putting it on and to everyone who spoke so warmly about the role we play in the local community. Catch the trailer for Informals II below and make sure you hear and see it in all of its audio-visual glory should it go live again.
The Bottega Rooms Open Day š”
In Octoberās half-term, we opened the doors for all to come and visit what has truly become a hub of Brighton & Hoveās creative scene. Since opening in 2019, Bottega Rooms and the community who call it home has hosted so many of our sessions with young people, recording artists and special occasions - the Open Day was certainly one of them.
Young People, parents and professionals came down to try out our equipment, make beats in the Mac Studios, listen to AudioActiveFM live in person, take in a heartwarming panel talk and witness live performances from local artists - one of whom performed live for the first time ever.
It was great to see some familiar faces and plenty of new ones, many of whom are now rocking up to Bottega Rooms regularly for our projects.
New-look websiteā¦ š
Towards the end of 2021, we launched our brand new website. As a result, itās now easier than ever for young people to sign up and attend our projects and, we like to think it does a pretty good job at telling people what we do.
Huge thanks to Matt Burleton and the team at Long Story Short who made our new site happen. Weāll miss the weekly back and forth website meetings now the new-look AudioActive.org.uk is live.
Weāve popped up in Crawleyā¦ š¤
Itās amazing what you can achieve with a shipping container and a car park.
A partnership with Crawley College has allowed us to create our first Community Pop-Up Studio on their site, where weāve been running regular rap cyphers, Crawleyās Room to Rant and other Free Music Sessions For Young People in the town.
Massive shoutout to the likes of Jo Bates for her work in Crawley this year, and to Sam Halligan and Will Squire, who have kitted it out superbly with everything a budding musician could need.
When the speakers are faced outwards and our music leaders are rapping, itās quite a sight to see. More pop-ups coming in 2022.
2022 is time for Worthing! ā°
From one special space to another, work is underway on Worthing High Street where AudioActiveās first-ever hub in the town will be. Weāre beyond excited about a project that has the potential to not only be massive for us, but for the whole of Worthingās creative community.
It will be the spot where our work with Young People in Worthing goes on, as well as hosting a small venue for live music, a coffee shop, a record store and a whole lot more. Weāve had amazing support from the likes of Worthing & Adur City Council, 66 Productions, Tru Thoughts and Michael Jones to make this happen so far, and weāve got a GoFundMe set-up for the generosity of the general public as well.
Donations of all sizes go a long way to making a space that has the potential to impact a whole lot of young people and creatives of all ages.
Thank YOU.
To everyone who has helped us make music and change lives this year, weād like to say a huge THANK YOU. Your support has helped us reach over a thousand young people this year once again, in what was another challenging one for both the creative and youth services industries.
Thanks to Youth Music, Arts Council England, Comic Relief, PRS Foundation, Blagrave Trust, Sussex Community Foundation, Coop Community Fund, Hillier Trust, Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust, Chris Bevington Foundation, Foreshaw Trust, Gatwick FoundationĀ Wellcome Trust, Safer Hastings, Suicide Prevention Fund, all the local councils, schools and professionals we work with, those making donations, those part ofĀ The Movement, our patrons, our staff, volunteers and ourĀ whole community.
Next year we go again.