Alchemy
Alchemy is a professional creative music lab and mentoring programme for 14-18 year olds in the London borough of Lewisham and based at Goldsmiths University.
The project began when local schoolteacher Jake Armstrong from Addey and Stanhope School reached out to Goldsmiths to work with a group of young people to increase positivity, raise aspirations, develop some music skills and, above all, have a great time in a safe environment.
Mikey Kirkpatrick, a musician and associate lecturer in music and education devised an initial 10-week mixtape creation and performance workshop series in collaboration with the university's Widening Participation, Social, Therapeutic and Community Studies (STaCS) and Music departments. The young people requested that it should continue, so it grew into a Saturday club, and now Alchemy has grown to work with 3 local schools and over 40 young people (Alchemy works with young people at risk of exclusion, but not exclusively), opening up the music department every Saturday for the creation of new music and development of music skills from singing, rap and instrumental lessons to music production and song writing.
The young people work with a team of professional artists, such as King Vito (science teacher, rapper and producer from Addey & Stanhope School), student ambassadors and student volunteers. The young people also receive weekly in-school mentoring from 3rd year STaCS students on their final youth work placements. Alchemy aims to empower young people by sharing our music skills with them, listen to them and respond to their interests and needs, offer them a safe space for learning and socialising, and to support them as they move forward towards their career and further education goals.
Our Lewisham Live / NX Records mixtape was released this Spring which reached no. 13 in the global mixcloud garage music charts, and we finished the 2018-19 school year with a big showcase a the Albany Theatre, Deptford.
- Location
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8 Lewisham WayNew CrossSE14 6NW
- Links
- Social
