Curious Minds

Having A Curious Blast In Clitheroe!

The BBC Blast Tour 2010 will be going out with a creative extravaganza at its final date in Clitheroe town centre! Young people aged 13 -19 will be able to unleash their imagination in three days of exciting free workshops, culminating in a Showcase Finale at The Grand.

Blast is the BBC’s youth creativity service. From first-timers to emerging artists, Blast gives teenagers the chance to try out new skills, showcase their own work and find out more about working in the creative industries. Each year the BBC takes Blast out on tour, giving young people the opportunity to get some hands-on experience and training in a wide variety of free multi-media workshops. Last year, Blast engaged over 170,000 teenagers in face-to-face activities throughout the UK.

BBC Blast will build an impressive mobile creative village, complete with digital workshop spaces at North Street Car Park on Wednesday 17^th November. Over the next three days, teenagers with a passion for music, dance, drama, film and fashion, will be able to take part in a variety of free workshops, meet industry professionals, learn new skills, use the latest technology and get creative, whatever their ability.

For this visit to Clitheroe, BBC Blast has teamed up with Curious Minds to accredit young people's development through the Arts Award Scheme. Arts Award helps those aged 11-25 to enjoy the arts, develop creative and leadership abilities and achieve a national qualification.  Anyone visiting BBC Blast will be able to complete the first section of the Award through the new talents they gain whilst on board. In addition, the work experience team selected for BBC Blast will be working with Curious Minds staff to complete the Silver Arts Award, using their placement to learn new skills, share them with others and explore creative careers. 

The Arts Award was launched in 2005 and will celebrate its fifth birthday on November 16 - the same week as BBC Blast comes to Clitheroe.

BBC Blast offers a fantastic opportunity for young people to learn what it's really like to work in the arts, and to share their skills with others who might be learning it for the first time.  This fits in perfectly with Arts Award, which encourages young people to engage with professional organisations and to develop as individuals and as leaders in whatever artform most inspires them.  It's particularly exciting that BBC Blast's visit to Clitheroe fits in so perfectly with the celebrations around Arts Award's fifth birthday - five years in which almost 40,000 young people have successfully gained awards across the country.

Arts Award Regional Development Coordinator Bryony Bell

Participants in BBC Blast can create their own 'happy birthday' message for the online campaign.  The most creative response uploaded from the North West will win £25 in theatre or book tokens, so there's added motivation to get inspired!”

Other highlights include:

• Fancy being a Sports Commentator? Get top tips and techniques from TV presenter Michael Absalom (better known as Abs), who has worked on BBC1, BBC2, CBBC and Eurosport.
• The Three-Day Performance Challenge - are you experienced in either dance, drama or music? Work in a group to create a performance for the Blast Showcase.
• Filmmaking - take on one of the behind-the-scenes or on-screen roles in a small film production crew and be part of the scripting, planning and shooting process.
• Create your own fashion collection - work with fashion designer Kirsty Doyle to re-vamp vintage clothing and create your very own look for the catwalk.
• Fancy a career in the creative industries? Come along to this Q & A session with a panel of industry experts to find out what it’s really like!

Other exciting workshops on offer include:

• Music: Try composing a film soundtrack or taster sessions in music production, electronic dance music and creating a hit single; if you are in a band, come along to the basics of sound engineering session and take away a demo.

• Media skills: Workshops include radio reporting, DJing and programme making; or use TV special effects to make it look like you are floating in space or sitting on a desert island.

• Performance: Create your own spoken word piece with a professional poet; or bust some moves in the contemporary/street dance fusion session.

• Free your artistic side: Work with a professional graphic designer, using a variety of techniques, to create a flyer for the BBC Blast showcase; or try your hand at animation and photography.

A selection of work created at the event will be shown at the Blast Talent Showcase in The Grand on Friday 19^th November at 6pm, where you can get to see the future stars of the area showing off their new skills!

All workshops and showcases are free, for more details and to sign up please see http://www.bbc.co.uk/blast/events or email blast-clitheroe@bbc.co.uk.

The Clitheroe event runs on Wednesday 17^th (9am – 6.30pm), Thursday 18^th (9am – 6.30pm) and Friday 19^th November (9am – 4pm). Work created here can be uploaded to the BBC Blast website, while the Talent Showcase will enable participants to show their new skills to family, friends and the public.

BBC Blast is working in partnership with  Arts Award (www.artsaward.org.uk) through Curious Minds. For more information on Arts Award contact Bryony Bell: bryony.bell@curiousminds.org.uk

The BBC Blast Trucks house a mobile learning environment, complete with a television studio, VT/audio editing area and digital workshop. Industry professionals and local facilitators are on hand to offer expert advice and support.