A brand new film showcasing the valuable work of HRH The Prince of Wales's arts and education charities launched yesterday on Huffington Post UK.
The film is presented by The Prince of Wales, who writes a compelling introduction on what fires his passion to empower young people. The footage captures the work of The Prince's Young People and Education Cluster, made up of charities including The Prince's Trust, The Prince's Foundation for Children & the Arts, The Prince's School of Traditional Arts, The Prince's Drawing School and The Prince's Teaching Institute.
The select charities have all been working collaboratively in the Tottenham area of Haringey, to share resources, skills and knowledge that will create greater opportunities for young people in the local area. Haringey, a flashpoint of the 2011 London riots, is one of the most deprived boroughs in the UK, and many of the children who live there are desperately in need of additional inspiration in their lives.
As part of the Cluster's work in Tottenham, Children & the Arts is delivering a variation of our 'Start' programme as well as running a 'Catalyst' teacher training day for teachers in local schools. Start aims to inspire children with the arts by building sustainable relationships between schools and local arts venues and in the footage you will see our 'Start' programme taking place in London. The footage captures children from London schools who were given the opportunity to visit Kings Place concert hall, to see a professional performance by one of the world's leading period instrument orchestras: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
This project provided most of these children with their first experience of visiting a concert hall. Following the performance visit the schools took part in interactive in-school workshops with the musicians and a grand finale was held at Kings Place, where the children performed their own musical pieces on stage. Our work in Tottenham will provide similar partnership opportunities for local schools to work with the Bernie Grant Arts Centre, Sadler's Wells, Little Angel Theatre and the Saatchi Gallery amongst others.
Within the film, I say that our work is all about capturing that 'moment of inspiration'. We have truly succeeded when a child enters a museum or concert hall for the first time and is able to relate what they are hearing or seeing to their own lives and to the issues they face. It is about creating a personal connection to the arts, allowing children to explore their imaginations and creativity and giving them a sense of achievement and boosted confidence through performance and dedication to learning a new skill. It is about encouraging these children to visit their local arts venue with their families and friends and to develop crucial skills in communication and language that may help them succeed later in life. Please do watch the film and help share our belief that the arts can transform lives.