Announcement: Young Music Promoters programme

Discovering the next generation of talented music promoters in East Sussex.


APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN

We are currently seeking eight Young Promoters and a Young Promoters Job Coach to help deliver the programme.

Find out more and apply here.


The De La Warr Pavilion is delighted to announce Young Promoters, a new initiative supported by Youth Music. This is a paid one-year programme to discover and empower eight emerging music promoters to develop their careers within the vibrant live music scene of coastal East Sussex, from Eastbourne to Rye.

The opportunity is open to all young people aged 18-25 from coastal East Sussex. By connecting talented emerging promoters with expert industry mentors, DLWP staff and extensive networks, we aim to empower them to fulfil their ambitions in the music industry, wider cultural and creative sector, and beyond.

Eight young participants will receive micro-grants to promote and deliver a series of gigs at local venues, supported by talks, masterclasses and mentoring from music industry professionals and DLWP’s Talent Accelerator programme.

The young promoters will develop skills for the music industry and beyond:

  • Working autonomously to incubate creative ideas and lead decision making.
  • Entrepreneurial skills around branding, advertising, marketing and digital.
  • Essential skills for promoting and business.
  • Communication skills, collaborating with artists, advertisers, and venues.
  • Problem solving, confidence, adaptation and resilience.


Matt Griffiths, Youth Music CEO says
: “It’s crucial we enable more young people to make, learn and earn in music, whatever their background or goal. That’s why we’re excited to invest in innovative organisations like the De La Warr Pavilion, who are leading the way with their dedication to diversifying music. It’s really inspiring to see their Young Promotors initiative removing barriers into the music industries for young people in coastal East Sussex, and hope it prompts others to take proactive steps that will equalise the sector.”

DLWP recognises that engagement with popular music is a key part of our region’s identity, from Bexhill and Eastbourne to Hastings and Rye. These towns all some of the UK’s 10% most deprived wards, and a low-income background can be a barrier to a career in music. This paid opportunity aims to mitigate this barrier to providing young people with financial support, venue access and training, alongside new opportunities to learn about marketing, ticketing, contracts, and funding.

The project will be managed by DLWP’s Head of Live Programming Ed Frith. Key delivery partners will be freelance music professionals Sam Halligan and Sally Grieg. Both have extensive experience at regional music organisations and venues. Other key delivery partners include Artswork and DLWP’s Talent Accelerator programme, supporting young people into creative careers in East Sussex.

Download the Press Release.

Supported through Youth Music’s Incubator Fund thanks to funding from players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

 

ABOUT YOUTH MUSIC

We are Youth Music. We’re the UK’s leading young people’s music charity. And we believe that every young person should have the chance to make, learn and earn in music and wider creativity.

Yet our research shows that many can’t because of who they are, where they’re from or what they’re going through.

We leverage our insights, investment, and influence to build a national grassroots infrastructure that ensures the future of music is more inclusive, diverse, equitable and accessible.

Youth Music is a national charity funded thanks to the National Lottery via Arts Council England, players of People’s Postcode Lottery and support from partners, fundraisers and donors.

www.youthmusic.org.uk

ZINEB SEDIRA: TELL US WHAT YOU THINK TO WIN A PRIZE

Our acclaimed exhibition Zineb Sedira: Can’t You See the Sea Changing? has just closed. We hope you enjoyed visiting the exhibition throughout the autumn and festive season.

Londonist called it ‘an impressive installation of film and photography’, FRIEZE named it in their top five exhibitions to see in winter 2022, and FAD praised DLWP as ‘the perfect seaside setting for this show’. Now, we want to hear your thoughts!

Please complete our short survey about your experience of the exhibition. Your feedback will help us help us plan future events, exhibitions and understand what our audiences think. All data is anonymous.

If you complete the survey you can enter a prize draw to win one of two copies of Dreams Have No Titles (2022), a publication exploring Zineb Sedira’s work,.

Please CLICK HERE to complete the survey. Thank you!

 

WIN A BOOK FOR COMPLETING THE SURVEY

Once you have completed the survey, you can enter our prize draw! Contact specialpreview@dlwp.com with your name and email address for the chance to win one of two copies of Dreams Have No Titles (2022), a cross between a newspaper and a magazine charting the artistic journey of Zineb Sedira in the run-up to her presentation for the French Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale (2022).

The Prize Draw is administered by the De La Warr Pavilion. Prize draw winners will be picked on 30 January 2023 and will be contacted by the De La Warr Pavilion team via email shortly thereafter. Prizes are non-transferrable. One entry per person. You will be required to respond to receive your prize. Prizes can be collected from the Box Office or issued by post.

Image: Zineb Sedira, Can’t You See the Sea Changing?, 2022. De La Warr Pavilion, Installation view. Photo: Rob Harris.

In Memory of Ken Rogers: ‘Life, Creativity and Community’

The Pavilion is a special place, defined by the unique relationships that we have with individuals in our community. People share stories of dancing on our terrace, savouring sea views from our Cafe, performing on our stage and celebrating special moments at DLWP.

We were recently contacted by Kathryn Rogers, whose father Ken had a special relationship with the Pavilion throughout his life. She told us how Ken acted in several plays at the De La Warr and spent time there with his family, visiting exhibitions, watching theatre and enjoying the cafe;

“The De La Warr holds a lot of memories for our family and is a very special place to us. Dad acted in several plays there. We visited exhibitions and theatre together over many years. And we enjoyed cake and fish and chips in the cafe, looking out to sea. The last nine years of Dad’s life were incredibly difficult, after he suffered a stroke and a catastrophic brain hemorrhage; the De La Warr continued to provide Dad and all of us with a space to spend time together as a family. Dad was a lovely and positive person and we wanted to honour his memory by supporting a charity that celebrates life and creativity and values community and bringing people together. The De La Warr is the perfect place for us to spend time and remember Dad and we are so pleased to have been able to raise funds in Dad’s memory to support your work.”

Ken in character as ‘Edward’ in Sparrows, by Charles Mander. He was part of a local amateur dramatics group called the Albany Players who regularly performed at DLWP.

When Ken passed away in March 2022, his family decided to raise funds in his memory to support the Pavilion, ensuring that we can continue to be a place of life, celebration and joy for people in years to come.

We’re incredibly grateful to Kathryn, her family, and her friends, for their generosity.

If you would like to fundraise in support of the Pavilion, you can do so using our JustGiving page.

 

 

New People of the Pavilion join our Team

We have recently welcomed four new faces to the Pavilion’s Exhibitions, Live and Communications teams. Joao, Kate, Greg and Luke will be helping us produce our prestigious programme of visual art and live events, and tell you – our community, about them!

Joao Conceicao, Assistant Curator

“I’m beyond excited to be joining the DLWP team, as I have been admiring the programme for a long time. From commissioning artists that I admire to having relevant historical/group shows that present important subjects in today’s world, I see this position as an incredible opportunity to contribute to East Sussex and beyond. Previously I worked at Gasworks and Chisenhale Gallery, both based in London, now I am ready to help deliver the Pavilion’s exciting programme but also enjoy the South East coast and all that it has to offer.” 

Greg Norrington, Live Programme Assistant

“Music has been my life since I was about…12 years old, after watching the Cunning Stunts live DVD by Metallica. From then on, it was always my passion to work and be a part of the music industry, more specifically the live circuit. I went on to study Music and Entertainment Business Mgmt at Uni and five days after graduating, I managed to secure an internship at a live concert promoter in London, Kilimanjaro Live. I was fortunate enough to have 11 brilliant years there working on some amazing tours for Ed Sheeran, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The 1975, Gorillaz and Hans Zimmer to name a few. During the pandemic, my fiancé and I relocated down to East Sussex to begin the next chapter in our lives and the only company I wanted to work for was the De La Warr Pavilion. Luckily, a role became available at the beginning of the year and now the rest is history! I’ve joined Ed Frith on the Live Programming team and can’t wait for what lies ahead.”

Kate Lineker, Marketing Manager

“I have always been obsessed with anything creative, having performed from an early age and graduating in Performing Arts, I still find being backstage thrilling!  After a career in brand marketing, I moved to the south coast where I combined my love of art and performance with my commercial brand marketing career – or utopia as I like to call it!  The De La Warr Pavilion is a beautiful coming together of my love for live performance, art, the sea, and my community.  Having known the team for a long time, working with them on a freelance basis, I was thrilled when the opportunity to join them as a full-time member of staff came up – it’s great to be part of the DLWP family.”

Luke Furminger, Marketing Assistant

“I’ve always had a strong interest in creative media and marketing, and so joining the De La Warr Pavilion was an incredible opportunity for me that I just had to take! My main focus as a Marketing Assistant will be on the Coastal Culture Trail which promotes cultural tourism across Hastings, Bexhill, and Eastbourne. This is a project that really excites me as I have grown up in Hastings and explored this trail my whole life without even realising it, I love the fact that now I get to promote it to the rest of the UK. It’s a great opportunity to gain experience ahead of starting my degree in journalism this September.”

Keep an eye out for them when visiting our exhibitions and events! We look forward to seeing you.

If you’d like to be one of our people of the Pavilion, we’re currently offering numerous casual and full-time roles across our organisation. Check out the latest opportunities here: https://www.dlwp.com/about-us/jobs/.

 

CELEBRATING BRITISH MODERNISM ON OUR 87TH ANNIVERSARY

Did you know the De La Warr Pavilion celebrated our 87th anniversary just over a month ago, on 12 December 2021?

To celebrate, we hosted a special online talk – exclusively for DLWP Members & Patrons, with our friends from the C20 Society. The talk was led by architectural historian Elain Harwood, focusing on her new book, Mid Century Britain: Modern Architecture, 1938-1963, which is now available from our shop.

Upon opening in 1935, DLWP was one of Britain’s first major modernist buildings. Catch up with the recording of Elain’s talk to discover ‘what came next’: In the following decades, architecture was seen as a powerful means to improve our lives and towns. This is the fascinating story of Britain’s mid-century modern buildings.

The C20 Society: Saving Outstanding Buildings

At DLWP, we are acutely aware of the challenges of preserving mid-century and modern buildings. By the late 1980s, the building had fallen into a state of disrepair due to a paucity of funds.

Its fortunes were reversed by Cllr Jill Theis MBE, who led the Friends of De La Warr Pavilion to revive DLWP and champion its heritage. That group became the Charitable Trust, which still oversees the running and conservation of DLWP.

Throughout the fight to rescue DLWP, the support of C20 Society was crucial to preserving the venue we know and love today. C20 is a charity dedicated to the conservation and celebration of Britain’s modern design heritage. It campaigns to save the best of twentieth and twenty-first century architecture for future generations, while supporting local communities fighting for modernity.

Over its 40 year history, it has saved everything from iconic red telephone boxes by Gilbert-Scott, to art deco lidos, modernist housing estates and Eduardo Paolozzi’s London’s Underground mosaics.

C20’s annual Buildings at Risk List highlights how our recent architectural heritage is under threat like never before.

Recent campaigns have championed the plight of landmark Department Stores being threatened across the country, and helped secure listed status for buildings as varied as the brutalist Preston Bus Station (pictured) and Swindon’s ‘space age’ Oasis Leisure Centre.

To get involved, you can become a C20 Member or Donate, with all funds supporting their vital casework and campaigns. The Society also runs a busy schedule of annual events (including tours, conferences and lectures), publishes books and a twice-yearly members magazine.

 

 

Season’s Greetings from DLWP

Hello,

As we draw to the close another lively year at the Pavilion, I wanted to thank everyone for their continued support.

Despite only being open for seven months, we have been able to offer amazing exhibitions by Holly Hendry, Alexi Marshall (in partnership with Flatland Projects), The Buddy Project (Hastings, Rother & Wealden) and Sharif Persaud from Turner-Prize nominated Project Art Works (an Autograph Touring exhibition). In the rooftop foyer we displayed murals by Lauren Godfrey and a new commission by Helen Cann – which can also be seen on our terrace bar.

We have sold over 50,000 tickets to 60 indoor and outside live gigs and hosted and produced over 30 community hires and family events including a laser light show, produced with Bexhill Chamber of Commerce for 3,000 people.

Like many others, we worked hard to provide a varied and meaningful online presence. Those events discussed and debated important issues of the day and supported the creative industries in the South East.

In May, we took part in First Site Colchester’s The Great Big Art Exhibition, where your work was displayed in our windows for six weeks. Working with partners East Sussex County Council, Heart Of Sidley, Bexhill Museum, East Sussex Music and artist Sam Ayre we ran six weeks of school holiday activities both in the building and the neighbourhood which provided food and fun for children whose families are in receipt of free school meals.

We have worked with England’s Creative Coast to present Holly Hendry’s outdoor sculpture and partnered with Sussex Modern, 1066 Country and Coastal Culture Trail to encourage visitors back to the region.

We could not have achieved any of this without the support of the UK Government, Arts Council England, Rother District Council, East Sussex County Council, Garfield Weston Foundation, Chalk Cliff Trust, our Members and Patrons, and our wider community of friends and supporters.

Thank you for coming back, and your patience and trust in us as we have had to do things differently due to the ongoing effects of the pandemic. As we head into Christmas we believe there are still many challenges ahead but are buoyed by your continued support and optimistic about the future for us all.

Wishing you a very peaceful holiday season.

Stewart Drew, Director & CEO.

 

Celebrating Care on Giving Tuesday 2021

Tuesday 30 November 2021 was Giving Tuesday, an annual day of global giving. As a registered charity at the heart of our community, the De La Warr Pavilion has participated in Giving Tuesday for several years to champion and share how we harness the arts, culture and creativity to improve skills, health and wellbeing in our region.

Over the past two years, we have sought to respond increasingly directly to the needs of our community throughout all we do, working closely with partners in our neighbourhood. This extends to Giving Tuesday.

In 2021 we are celebrating the incredible work of caregivers!

DLWP is gifting half the value of all donations via the following link to Bexhill Caring Community. We want to thank everyone who has donated so far! To support the campaign and get involved, visit: www.dlwp.com/giving-tuesday.

Your donation will bring people together through care and culture.

Bexhill Caring Community are based just around the corner from DLWP, and work across the Bexhill region.

  • Support over 800 elderly, housebound and isolated people in our community.
  • Provide everything from day care to travel, form filling to handymen, and more!
  • Over 100 dedicated volunteers and just five staff make this possible.
  • They rely totally on donations from the general public, and aim to raise £1,000 this Christmas to maintain essential services.

‘The day centres are a godsend in maintaining a bit of social life and getting out and about. I am so grateful’, Linda

‘It has given me the opportunity to meet people. I always look forward to coming, and having the transport makes it easy’, Betty

Dial-A-Ride is a door to door transport service available to anyone living in the Bexhill area, regardless of age, who finds it difficult or impossible to use public transport.

BOUNCE BACK

The theme of Giving Tuesday 2021 is Bounce Back. The past eighteen months have been tough for us all. Bexhill Caring Community did an incredible job, helping nearly 400 people with appointments, medical care, shopping and more during the first year of the pandemic alone. Since restrictions have eased, they’ve relaunched vital services which bring people together, helping those they care for to ‘bounce back’ themselves, as volunteer Jennifer explains:

“Those of us who volunteer at the Day Centre all have the same aim: To bring elderly and often lonely people together. Our guests have time to talk, to play games or just to enjoy the company of others…

[After lockdown], we noticed quite a difference. Many [who attend Day Care] were quiet and introverted but over the past few weeks, we have seen a big difference in many of them. They are enjoying spending time with others… their lives are enhanced and many of them will not have had this type of interaction for many months. Even those who have had family or friends to look after them are coming out of their shells more and their confidence is growing. To see their smiling faces as they arrive at the Centre is reward in itself. We hope we can go on supporting people in this way.”

To support our campaign, please visit: www.dlwp.com/giving-tuesday.

PROJECT ART WORKS

Bexhill Caring Community are not the only incredible local organisation working with caregivers…

Sharif Persaud: Have You Ever Had, ‘self-portrait’. De La Warr Pavilion, 2021. Credit: Rob HarrisFrom 18 October 2021 – 9 January 2022, our Ground floor gallery exhibition is Sharif Persaud: Have You Ever Had. Sharif (b. 1993) is an artist based in Hastings. His practice has been developed in collaboration with Project Art Works since 2014.

Project Art Works is a collective based in Hastings working at the intersection of art and care, responding to the gifts and impacts of neurodivergence. The collective is made up of 40 neurodivergent artists, as well as artists, activists, families and carers, who work together to develop long-term supportive and creative relationships

As well as supporting neurodiverse artists, Project Art Works run the ‘Support Collective’ – a group of people with lived experience of disability, family carers, support workers, Personal Assistants and representatives from health and social care. The collective share the aim of working towards person-centred, accountable and inclusive models of support and care, and protecting the rights of people with support needs.

Kate Adams, Cosmologies of Care, 2021. Courtesy Project Art Works

It is not just us who think Project Art Works are amazing. They are currently nominated for the Turner Prize, and feature in the Turner Prize exhibition at the Herbert Gallery, Coventry. At the heart of the exhibition sits Kate Adam’s Cosmologies of Care (pictured, click to enlarge). This major new work illustrates the networks of care.

Grassroots organisations such as Bexhill Caring Community are critical to ‘cosmologies’ of care. Here at DLWP, we know that culture also plays a key role: We have provided uplifting experiences for people receiving care and those who provide it through creative activities with social care partners. These include participatory film screenings with Bexhill Dementia Action Alliance; studio events and exhibitions with Project Art Works; and hands-on workshops and supported viewings for adults receiving day or residential care.

In summer 2021, we explored the relationship between culture and cure in our Care & Citizenship programme. Follow the link to discover an online talk reflecting on and how art and cultural workers have addressed the changing landscape of care, https://www.dlwp.com/care-and-citizenship/who-cares/.

Information & Support for Carers

To find out more about Bexhill Caring Community’s incredible work, opportunities to get involved, and ways you can help them, please visit their website or Facebook.

Click here for organisations, training and help to support carers in East Sussex.

www.dlwp.com/giving-tuesday

Read about our 2020 Giving Tuesday campaign here.

Celebrate the Next Generation of Jazz at DLWP

DLWP Fundraiser Dan Scales previews the National Youth Jazz Orchestra from a unique perspective:

It is as exciting for the Pavilion’s staff to hear about upcoming performances as it is for our community. From big names to emerging artists, from music to comedy, we all get the same buzz when an artist we love gets announced.

This week, the news of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO) visiting DLWP as part of their forthcoming tour, celebrating the music of Amy Winehouse, piqued my interest for a slightly more unusual reason…

Growing up in Norwich, I played trombone in the Norfolk Student’s Jazz Orchestra – a group of the most talented young jazz musicians from across the county. A highlight of my time in the Jazz Orchestra were visits from NYJO, with whom we held joint workshops, sessions and, of course, watched perform at Norwich’s leading venues.

NYJO has been a hot bed of jazz and big band talent for over 55 years. Alumni include Guy Barker, Laura Jurd, Mark Nightingale, the leader of the Strictly Come Dancing band Dave Arch (plus most of his band), London 2012’s

Many of my peers in the Norfolk Student’s Jazz Orchestra went on to study music to degree level and beyond, gracing stages up and down the UK. Never that talented myself, I took a different path – studying history before moving into Fundraising, eventually returning to the arts and music in my current role at the Pavilion.

DLWP is far more than just a venue. We engage over 6,000 people each year through our learning and participation activities, enabling children, young people, and adults to engage in the arts, developing creative and personal skills in the process.

NYJO is more than just an orchestra. NYJO runs a comprehensive national education programme. This spreads the ‘Jazz message’ to around 20,000 young people annually. I was fortunate enough to benefit from these fantastic workshops years ago, and am delighted that NYJO continues this work to this day.

So, come and celebrate the best young jazz musicians in the UK on Thursday 7 October 2021. Speaking from experience, it’ll be worth it…

Book tickets here!

#peopleofthepavilion

Dan Scales as a primary school student & budding musician

Celebrating our Community & Heritage

Originally conceived as a ‘People’s Palace’, the De La Warr Pavilion is an experiment in democratic social enterprise; the prototype for the modern cultural centre and the blueprint for the Southbank. Today, over 85 years after opening in 1935, we are proud of our rich architectural and social heritage. We explore and champion our heritage through our programmes and work tirelessly to conserve the fabric of Grade I Listed building for future generations. This blog shares some of the work we have done despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.

SAFEGUARDING OUR ICONIC SOUTH STAIRCASE

Over the past six months, we’ve enjoyed sharing the story of vital remedial repair works to our south staircase window. This was funded by a grant from Historic England as part of the Culture Recovery Fund, the Government’s £1.57 billion package to protect the UK’s culture and heritage sectors from the impacts of Covid-19.

Now that the works are complete, Historic England has worked with the DLWP team and those within our community to produce a video celebrating the project. It features members of our team, Young Creatives, volunteers, Members and Rossana Leal – founder of the Refugee Buddy Project, Hastings, Rother & Wealden. You can read more about the announcement and start of the works on our blog. Watch the new video below:

 

NEW ONLINE EVENT RECORDINGS

If you love the Pavilion’s rich architectural and living social history, you may wish to relive our online Members & Patrons events, so far, on YouTube.

From Victorian to Modern: Bexhill & DLWP
Bexhill Museum Curator Julian Porter explains how DLWP, an icon of modernism, came to be in a Victorian seaside town and our story since. WATCH

Wartime Bexhill – Were We Really Closed?
Julian Porter takes a deeper dive into the wartime history of DLWP and Bexhill from the outbreak of war to post-war recovery. As you will discover, we were far from closed! WATCH

Carl Gent, in conversation with Rosie Cooper
Acclaimed artist Carl Gent, raised in Bexhill, explores their practice, career, and alternative histories of Bexhill with DLWP Head of Exhibitions Rosie Cooper. WATCH

We will be sharing further talks on our YouTube in due course, including Rossana Leal: Solidarity, Community & Action and Sussex Modernism by the Sea, with historian Kathryn Ferry.

JOIN US

All these events were delivered exclusively for our Members & Patrons. As well as exclusive online content, our Members enjoy a 10% discount in our Café Bar & Shop, priority booking for live events, Members gig bar and more…

DLWP has been bringing communities together through culture for over 85 years. We are your Pavilion and we still need your support. The best way to do this is by joining us as a Member or Patron.

 

by Dan Scales, Fundraiser

DLWP awarded Weston Culture Fund grant

The De La Warr Pavilion is thrilled to receive support from the Garfield Weston Foundation’s Weston Culture Fund.

Being closed for so long means this support will be critical to restoring the work we do in our communities, presenting future exhibitions, developing learning activities and supporting artists.

We are delighted that our partners Hastings Contemporary – who we work with through the Coastal Culture Trail, Sussex Modern, England’s Creative Coast and more – also received support from the fund.

Thank you very much to the Garfield Weston Foundation!

#westonculturefund

About the Weston Culture Fund

“Our cultural sector is at the heart of our local communities providing not only entertainment but education and inspiration for many. Our Trustees were impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit shown across the arts in response to Covid-19 and it was a privilege to hear what organisations had been doing to not only survive but also to reinvent the way they reach audiences. What really stood out was the level of collaboration and support they had for each other and the determination to keep going, despite the increasingly difficult situation.

We all want and need our cultural sector to thrive and, if anything, our time away from the arts has shown just how important they are to us – bringing much needed pleasure and enrichment to our lives. Arts organisations are desperate to re-open and get back to what they do best, and we hope that this new funding will help many of them do exactly that.” – Philippa Charles, Director, Garfield Weston Foundation.

 

www.garfieldweston.org