Southbank Centre

Southbank Centre went to Pride last weekend 🌈💛 On Saturday, Southbank Centre’s PROUD network marched in the London Pride Parade alongside colleagues from Royal Museums Greenwich. Celebrations then continued on our Riverside Terrace for NAZAR, our joyous open-air Pride party featuring DJs from the SWANA and South Asian communities. 🌈 PROUD is one of our staff networks and aims to create an inclusive community and social space at Southbank Centre, while supporting and increasing the visibility of LGBTQ+ voices within the organisation.

Discover the work of composers who have pushed the boundaries of classical music 🎻🎶 Sound Within Sound, our five-day festival showcasing radical composers from across the world, opens next week. Inspired by Kate Molleson’s book by the same name, Sound Within Sound spotlights the lives and works of ten 20th-century composers whose work has been overlooked in the main classical canon. From Mexico to New Zealand, these visionaries have challenged the way we think about classical music. Whether you’re a seasoned classical fan, or just dipping a bow into classical music, this festival is an opportunity to experience classical music in different ways ranging from live concerts to immersive experiences and free riverside DJ sets. 👉 Find out more about Sound Within Sound (Thu 4 - Sun 7 July) here: https://lnkd.in/dHVWhaZp

Applications for our 2024/25 New Poets Collective programme are open 🌻 The New Poets Collective is a free programme centred around the National Poetry Library. It helps a group of up to 15 poets hone their skills and expand their knowledge and confidence. Over the course of a year, the group develops creatively while drawing on and contributing to the rich and varied artistic life of the Southbank Centre. The programme culminates with presentations at the London Literature Festival 2025 and a zine. This is the perfect opportunity if: - You’re an emerging poet looking to develop your craft and expand your confidence - You’re aged 22+ - You’re a UK resident - You haven’t yet published your first collection of poetry 📅 Applications close on Wednesday 10 July 2024 👉 Find out more about New Poets Collective and apply here:  https://lnkd.in/de_5-U4z

The Art Hustings 2024 | With What Next? and the Campaign for the Arts The Arts Hustings 2024 is the only free-to-access national debate on arts, culture and heritage issues at this General Election. Organised in partnership with What Next? and the Campaign for the Arts, it aims to get to the heart of key arts policy questions, and to give everyone the chance to be part of the conversation. Confirmed participants include the Conservative Party, Green Party, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, the SDLP and the SNP. Representatives from other main UK parties have been invited and will be confirmed in the coming days.

Our retailers are such an important part of the Wonderful World of Victoria Eggs. So, in celebration of the incredible people we work alongside, we’re proud to bring you our June Retailer of the Month. This month, we spoke to the lovely team over at the Southbank Centre Gift Shop. We caught up with the shop manager, Felix, to find out a little more about their store. https://lnkd.in/eZ5BfrQr

We are thrilled to support What Next? and Campaign for the Arts in the organisation of The Arts Hustings 2024 🎭🎨🎻 Ahead of the UK General Election, this live online event will give voters the chance to hear directly from political parties about their commitments to support and develop the arts and heritage in the UK, after an especially challenging period for the cultural sector. Confirmed participants so far include the Conservative Party, Green Party, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, Alliance Party of Northern Ireland and the SDLP. Representatives from other main UK parties have been invited and may be added later. 📅 Wednesday 26 June 🕣 8:30am - 9:30am 💻 The link to access the event is available below

Today, we are happy to join the #CultureMakes campaign and celebrate the outstanding contribution of the arts and culture industry to the UK economy 🎭🎨✨ From training the next generation of creative workers, to making the UK one of the most attractive tourist destinations in the world, our cultural institutions are invaluable to the national economy. At the Southbank Centre, we are proud to be the fifth most visited attraction in the UK with over 3.1m visitors enjoying our venues in 2023 (ALVA). People from around the world come to our unique 11-acre site where we programme over 5,000 events each year – of which over 40% are free to attend. Earlier this year, we launched our first Technical Academy, a new innovative scheme to address a sector-wide skills shortage and diversify the pipeline into the technical industries. This new flagship programme reflects the Southbank Centre’s commitment to supporting the next generation of artists and workforce in the creative industries. Additionally, through our educational programmes, we engaged with 1,134 teachers and 10,718 children and young people in person in 2023/24. 👉 Find out more about this campaign led by the Cultural Philanthropy Foundation here: https://lnkd.in/dZijQrQ9

Arts supporters of the UK unite! 💫 We’re teaming up with What Next and the Southbank Centre for the ONLY public arts debate in this UK General Election! Hear directly from the political parties – live. This Weds 26 June, 8.30-9.30am BST. After an especially challenging period for arts access in the UK, find out what the political parties are committing to do for the arts. Get involved! After you’ve registered, you can suggest your questions and tell us what matters most to you. Register free here ⬇ https://lnkd.in/e4bxxeDH

The Hayward Gallery’s new exhibition Tavares Strachan: There Is Light Somewhere opens today 🎉 This is the first mid-career survey dedicated to the work of New York-based, Bahamian artist Tavares Strachan. This multifaceted exhibition showcases the inventive ways in which Strachan has celebrated unsung explorers and cultural trailblazers, inviting audiences to engage with overlooked characters whose lives illuminate histories hidden by bias. Strachan’s vividly realised stories of erasure and remembrance shine a light not only on histories of colonialism and racism, but also on the universal desire for a sense of belonging. In three 4-star reviews, the exhibition is described as an ‘imaginative show [that] delights, informs and calls us to action’ by the Evening Standard while the Guardian writes that Strachan’s art is ‘always encyclopaedic, engrossing, disconcerting and engaging’. Time Out adds ‘it’s dizzying, complex, ungraspable, because that’s what history is’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 👉 Find out more about Tavares Strachan: There Is Light Somewhere (18 Jun - 1 Sep) here: https://lnkd.in/dfFQw8dU 📷 Installation view of Tavares Strachan: There Is Light Somewhere. Ruin of a Giant (King Tubby), 2024. Photo: Mark Blower

Get ready to groove! Chaka Khan’s Meltdown starts tomorrow 🕺🎶 The iconic singer and musician Chaka Khan has curated a stellar lineup for this year’s Meltdown with artists spanning jazz, R&B and soul. Drawing on her life and achievements, she’s also curated an extensive free programme inspired by her commitment to wellbeing and young people, with a healthy dose of dance to bring London’s communities together. Over the next two weeks, our Riverside Terrace and Clore Ballroom will be buzzing with free events ranging from DJ sets and dance parties to yoga sessions. 👉 Find out more about Chaka Khan’s Meltdown (14 - 23 June) here: https://lnkd.in/d5hDBSjX 📷 Jo Metson Scott