Our intent is not simply to display our cultural achievements, but to inspire young artists and unlock their creativity. We will use the main strands of activity in our programme to get young people face to face with great artists, producers and teachers; to equip them with the skills to negotiate, manage and promote their activities; and empower them to lead change. This is not a top-down approach, but to do with galvanising talent and enterprise.
So, this month, our journey begins, and we are fortunate to be working in close partnership with the UK’s leading cultural institutions, nationally and regionally. In this country we have, across the board, the best, most highly respected cultural institutions in the world with enormous reservoirs of knowledge and experience. They, like us, are challenging themselves to work in new ways and to deliver the best. As we promised in our bid, they '…will help plan the largest celebration of British cultural life in living memory.'
After two years of patient work, we have fleshed out some of the ten Major Projects in detail, and in fact some are being launched later this year, others are still at relatively early stages of development, all have time to grow. We will keep you informed of developments and ensure that you are the first to know as we shape and develop our mission over the next four years. And I hope that you will be there with us in the summer of 2012 to celebrate what we believe will be a transforming moment in this country's history.
Artists Taking the Lead – 12 cutting edge artists' commissions across the UK
Stories of the World – a national network of exhibitions telling new stories in new ways
Sounds – a four-project approach to celebrating music as a universal language
Somewhereto– a youth-led campaign for people to reclaim spaces for sport and creativity
Discovering Places – opening up the historic and built environment to new audiences
Film Nation – a programme designed to get young people behind the camera and explore their world and dreams
World Shakespeare Festival– a performing arts festival celebrating different Shakespeare as writer for the world
Festival of Carnivals – five linked and themed street Carnivals in the Olympic period
Unlimited – a sequence of local and national festivals and events devoted to work by disabled people in all art forms and all sports
World Cultural Festival – an international arts festival as the culmination of the Cultural Olympiad in 2012
Find out more about the ten Major Projects.
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