The PIYN project involves aspiring artists and performers from Auckland's diverse communities, working with the best of contemporary UK talent, to collaborate, create and celebrate. The programme involves capacity building workshops, online and face to face collaborations and master-classes in creativity.

A video showing highlights from the NZ and Australian residencies for Akala and Hip Hop Shakespeare has been loaded online today. You can view the video online here.  
The second year of the PIYN programme involved the composition of a live show by NZ composers TaayNinh and Submariner. The writing was done in collaboration with UK guests Charlie Dark and Urban Soul Orchestra, and included a number of new and established NZ artists including Rio Hemopo and Riki Gooch, Isaac Aesili, Amber Stephens, Luciana Camargo, Alda Rezende and Le Nuong. The Show was a great success and an inspiring example of intercultural dialogue and diversity working  in international arts. The project and 3 NZ shows was filmed by Peter Takapuna and the footage was edited by Rebecca Gin. You can view the short film here.

 
The creative commons EP recorded in a week as part of the Otherside Of The World joint collaboration from the British Council NZ and partners Redbull studios Auckland, and the Roundhouse in Camden has just been released online. Visit the bandcamp site here.     In May 2011 we launched the innovative creative commons project Otherside Of The World. The idea was to create an EP of new creative commons music, recorded between London and Auckland (over each day/night), in redbull studios Auckland and the Roundhouse Camden, and emphasizing the tools available on the internet, and the spirit of sharing and creative collaboration. Each evening was the change over part of the session, when the NZ musicians finished recording, and met the UK musicians by skype to discuss the recordings that were about to happen in Camden. Neither set of artists had met each other, and neither had experienced recording a track together. Viva la creative revolution! We are now able to share the results of the collaboration online. This is a creative commons project. Photos by Scott Sinton.
Greetings to our friends and colleagues in Australia, We are running a pilot programme for our PIYN project in association with the British Council Australia 24-27 July in Melbourne and Brisbane. The PIYN project involves aspiring artists and performers from diverse communities, working with the best of contemporary UK talent, to collaborate, create and celebrate. For the programme in Australia we welcome Helen Baxter's Online Creative toolkit,  Oliver Wayman and Cameron Saul from East London charity Bottletop, and members of London's dynamic HipHop Shakespeare company. Programme details and dates are as follows: Hip Hop Shakespeare : The Hip-Hop Shakespeare Company is a music theatre production company founded by MOBO-award winning hip-hop artist Kingslee “Akala” Daley. In his workshops Akala challenges 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 hip hop. Methods for opening culture through language are discussed, as well as techniques for poetry/MC delivery, and best practice from case studies. Akala inspires and engages young people with his workshop experience throughout Europe, Africa and around the World. Sunday 24th July:  Workshop 11am - 4pm.  Followed by an open mic performance for friends and family from 5-6:30 pm. Venue: The Substation 1 Market Street Newport Melbourne VIC 3015, Australia Tuesday 26th July: 5-8pm. Akala will perform at Dig Deep at the Arts Centre 100 St Kilda Rd Melbourne, and interact with the aspiring artists there. Wednesday 27th July: Workshops with Contact Inc's networks. Contact Inc. 3 / 80 Hope Street, South Brisbane. Online Creative Toolkit Workshop: Helen Baxter (UK/NZ) from Mohawk Media, presents an online toolkit for creative practitioners across the various artforms – with a focus on income generation, newly developed marketplaces, and developing an effective online presence. This toolkit takes a group of 20 creative entrepreneurs, who will learn about the tools used to run a modern creative company, and take a guided tour of online places to publish work and earn money. Participants will be shown blog start-up and/or enhancement using the WordPress platform, focusing on PayPal and donation systems, event management, mobile streaming and social media marketing tools. Mindmap materials will detail creative business structure & resources, and widgets for publishing.  The day will finish off with a social media masterclass, and participants will leave with a personalised strategy, action plan and toolkit for their creative practice. Date: Tuesday 26 July 2011 Venue : Digital Learning Hub – Arts Centre Melbourne 100 St Kilda Rd Melbourne. Start time: 10:30 am Finish time: 2:30 pm To apply for this free workshop go to: http://piyn.net/questionnaire/ Bottletop: Come and join us for a free session on ethical trade, music and fashion initiatives with the director behind UK’s successful Bottletop charity. Bottletop is dedicated to designing and producing ethically sourced and sustainable products in communities where they deliver education programmes, focusing on quality and local craftmanship and generating sustainable trade and employment. Oliver Wayman will present ideas about creating income generation projects in economically disadvantaged communities, and the way in which bottletop showcases beautifully crafted fashion accessories from different cultures, to an international market. He will be presenting a track record of high profile collaborations with fashion houses as well as focussing on the impact which the “ring pull effect” has had on the communities in Salvador, Brazil. Oliver will also talk about the reaction they have had to their cross-cultural music projects – Sound Effects and the Bottletop Band. Come and join us for an inspirational session. Date: Tuesday 26 July 2011 Venue : Digital Learning Hub – Arts Centre Melbourne, Open Learning Space. 100 St Kilda Rd Melbourne. Start time: 3pm Finish time: 4:30 pm   THANKS to all UK delegates and Australian partners for their support. See you there! Please feel free to contact Amrit.Gill@britishcouncil.org.au if you have any inquiries.
Gill, Amrit (Australia)
We welcome our Australian friends to the pilot programme for the PIYN project in Australia. Firstly we are seeking registrations for a FREE online creative toolkit that has been under development for the past three years in the NZ programme. Helen Baxter (UK/NZ) from Mohawk Media, presents an online toolkit for creative practitioners across the various artforms - with a focus on income generation, newly developed marketplaces, and developing an effective online presence. The Creative Business Toolkit takes group of 25 creative entrepreneurs, who will learn about the tools used to run a modern creative company, and take a guided tour of online places to publish work and earn money. Participants will be shown blog start-up and/or enhancement using the WordPress platform, focusing on PayPal and donation systems, event management, mobile streaming and social media marketing tools. Mindmap materials will detail creative business structure & resources, and widgets for publishing.  The day will finish off with a social media masterclass, and participants will leave with a personalised strategy, action plan and toolkit for their creative practice.
To apply for this free workshop go to: http://piyn.net/questionnaire/ Please note that not all applicants will be selected for this workshop, but every applicant will be sent links to the workshop presentations and workbook. Date: Tuesday 26 July 2011 Venue : Digital Learning Hub - Arts Centre Melbourne 100 St Kilda Rd Melbourne. Start time: 10:00 am Finish time: 2:00 pm Please tell you friends who may be interested as well, and we will see you on the day.  

The Hip-Hop Shakespeare Company is a music theatre production company founded by MOBO-award winning hip-hop artist Kingslee “Akala” Daley. In July, we welcome members of the company to Auckland for a series of workshops and creative residencies. In his workshops Akala challenges 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 hip hop. Methods for opening up cultural groups through language are discussed, as well as techniques for poetry/MC delivery, and best practice from case studies. Akala inspires and engages young people with his workshop experience throughout Europe, Africa and around the World. We welcome the Hip Hop Shakepeare Company's Akala and UK poet Anthony Anaxagorou to Auckland for their inspirational wordplay workshops!     What: Auckland City Residency When: July 21-22 2011. Mt Roskill Youth Zone, 740 Sandringham Rd Mt Roskill Auckland. 10am-4pm. Cost: Free To register: To register interest in the Auckland City residency email gareth.farry@britishcouncil.org.nz What: Auckland North Youth Residency When: July 18-20 2011. Takapuna Cricket Clubrooms, Northcote road, Auckland North. 10am-4pm. Cost: Free To register: To register interest in the North Auckland youth residency you must be aged between 16-23. Email matt.blomeley@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz What: Auckland City showcase When: July 22 2011 6-8pm Cost: Free Venue: Ponsonby Social Club - Ponsonby Rd Auckland  

       

Come and join us for a free half day seminar on ethical trade, music and fashion initiatives with the directors behind UK's successful Bottletop charity. Bottletop is dedicated to designing and producing ethically sourced and sustainable products in communities where they deliver education programmes, focusing on quality and local craftsmanship and generating sustainable trade and employment.

Oliver and Cameron are presenting ideas about creating income generation projects in economically disadvantaged communities, and the way in which bottletop showcases beautifully crafted fashion accessories from different cultures, to an international market. They will be presenting a track record of high profile collaborations with fashion houses as well as focussing on the impact which the "ring pull effect" has had on the communities in Salvador, Brazil. Bottletop is dedicated to designing and producing ethically sourced and sustainable products in communities where they deliver education programmes, focusing on quality and local craftsmanship and generating sustainable trade and employment. Oliver and Cameron will also talk about the reaction they have had to their cross-cultural music projects - Sound Effects and the Bottletop Band.

We also asked Soulsista Aotearoa to play live beforehand. Come and join us for an inspirational afternoon.

 
Bottletop is dedicated to designing and producing ethically sourced and sustainable products, in communities where they deliver education programmes, focusing on quality and local craftsmanship and generating sustainable trade and employment in certain parts of the World. Oliver will also talk about the reaction they have had to their cross-cultural music projects, the Sound Affects album series.
British Council's online Creative Commons project Otherside Of The World, with partners Redbull NZ, Play It Strange NZ, and the Roundhouse Camden London, has drawn to a close after a week of intense recording, skyping and editing in studios in London and Auckland. The project is part of British Council New Zealand’s PIYN programme, which involves aspiring artists and performers from Auckland’s diverse communities, working with the best of contemporary UK talent, to collaborate, create and celebrate. NZ performers stood up to the challenge, and provided an inspiring and challenging mix of audio ideas for development by the UK participants. We are awaiting the final mixes, but keep an eye on this blog and our creative commons site for the free EP which will be available in the next month.  
Thanks to Helen Baxter from Mohawk Media for a fabulous Creative's online toolkit session last Saturday. As promised, we are loading up the workshop links under a creative commons license. The mindmeister toolkit maps below are an extremely invaluable, comprehensive and indepth look at online branding, publishing, social media & business structure. As with all content in the PIYN project, it is to be shared and explored, for the empowerment of our diverse creative community. Mindmaps: Creative Business Structure Creative Business Toolkit Publishing with Wordpress & Widgets Social Media Masterclass NZ Business Resources Keep an eye out for another session with Helen later in the year.    
Next Monday 30th May, we are launching the innovative Creative Commons project Otherside Of The World, with partners Redbull NZ, Play It Strange NZ, and the Roundhouse Camden London. We are extremely pleased to announce we will have Multi-grammy winning mixer "Bassy" Bob Brockmann to sit in on studio as guest executive producer for a couple of sessions. The project is part of British Council New Zealand's PIYN programme, which involves involves aspiring artists and performers from Auckland's diverse communities, working with the best of contemporary UK talent, to collaborate, create and celebrate. The idea is to create an EP of new creative commons music, recorded between London and Auckland (over each day/night), using online tools such as soundcloud, emphasizing the tools available on the internet, and the spirit of sharing and creative collaboration. Each evening will be a change over part of the session, when the NZ musicians will have finished recording, and will meet the UK musicians by skype to discuss the recordings that will be about to happen in Camden. Neither set of artists will have met each other, and neither will have experienced recording a track together. Viva la creative revolution!   BIOGRAPHY "Bassy" Bob Brockmann is a veteran of the "bizz" as it is known, has mixed over 2000 singles, and his records have sold in excess of 50 million units world wide. His work is easily recognizable for a naturalistic approach to mixing, where the lead vocal is king. Bassy has been responsible for seminal records for artists like Christina Aguilera, Biggie Smalls, P diddy, Babyface, Brian Mcnight, Herbie Hancock, the Fugees, Santana, and Sting. The project runs for a week, and being creative commons, some parts of the finished recordings will be available under CC license online for anyone to use. As always stay linked to this blog, or twitter to get the lowdown.  
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