HOME has been nominated for two awards at the Curious Minds – North West Cultural Education Awards 2020.
The online exhibition Last Place On Earth, created by Future 20, has been nominated for the Lockdown Innovation Award.
And AMP (Accessible Music Productions) has been nominated for the Lockdown Inclusion Award, in partnership with Venture Arts.
Last Place On Earth’s nomination comes in a category that recognises “the delivery of arts activity or cultural education during lockdown in a way that was highly innovative.”
The Future 20 Collective is a group of artists aged 18-25 who undertook HOME’s 12-month training initiative in 2019-2020. The collective is made up of filmmakers, poets, spoken word artists, photographers, visual artists, musicians, theatre performers & producers and a glass artist.
Their work was initially supposed to be shown in an exhibition in HOME’s main gallery, but when the coronavirus lockdown made it clear this would be impossible, the works were moved into the digital realm.
Working with artist Ivan Morison, Future 20 created a virtual reality (VR) environment that invites you to imagine the last place on earth. A 360 degree film available via HOME’s website, Last Place On Earth is an immersive visual and sonic experience.
Marisa Draper, Head of Engagement at HOME, said: “We’re thrilled that this talented artist collective have been recognised for their inspiring and thought-provoking work. They demonstrated how collaboration and creativity can thrive despite lockdown challenges.”
AMP (Accessible Music Productions) is HOME’s project for music lovers, makers and shakers aged 18-25 with different abilities and additional needs. Working in partnership with Venture Arts, AMP includes monthly music workshops that support musicians to write, play and create music from an eclectic mix of sounds, plus House Party, a quarterly club night with open mic, live music, DJ’s and dancing ‘til late.
Ordinarily taking place in HOME’s building, the project moved online for the duration of lockdown, using Zoom to run DJ workshops and House Party, the project’s regular inclusive clubnight, and sharing playlists via Spotify.
House Party will return to the building on Friday, 11 December.
Marisa Draper added: “Working with this group of young adults throughout lockdown was a joy. It was a challenge to continue a music making project online, but staff and artists came up with creative and engaging solutions, enabling us to continue one of our most important programmes.”
A virtual celebration ceremony for all the Curious Minds nominees will take place on Friday, 6 November. AMP has also been nominated for a Spirit of Manchester award, which will be celebrated on Thursday, 22 November.