The Ukes and Kids songwriting project gives kids in South Africa the opportunity to meet, collaborate, create, play music, write songs and learn from each other and a host of local and international volunteer performing artists, educators, and mentors.
In 2014, the NAC and ICRD Group Foundation marked the celebration of 20 years of freedom in South Africa with another youth music and performing arts camp under the theme ‘RAINBOW AND ME’. The purpose of this project was to promote social cohesion, shared values and outlooks, as well as unleash Mzansi Golden Economy’s hidden talents. Additionally, the camp participants were given an opportunity to take part in the ‘New Africa Indigenous Orchestra’. The ‘RAINBOW AND ME’ camp enabled young South Africans to celebrate their rich heritage through spoken word, song and dance. The camp, which took place in June 2014, infused ‘the old and the new’ in a two-week-long music and performing arts extravaganza. ‘The ICRD Group Foundation is proud to work with the NAC and cross-sector partners in using the medium of art to address poverty, crime, teenage pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, drug and substance abuse, unemployment and underdevelopment through knowledge and skills development,’ the ICRD Group Foundation said in 2014.
The Ukes and Kids Songwriting Project was created out of the love for children and the belief that through music we can make the world a better place
The Ukes and Kids Songwriting Project was created out of the love for children and the belief that through music we can make the world a better place. The project offers unique opportunities for children from regions in Southern Africa to learn songwriting skills while engaging in a creative exchange with peers and music making with a team of local and international performing artists. Ukes and Kids provides a platform for the innate creativity and expression in every child to be heard and seen while fostering their talents through an immersive week of music, dance, poetry, theatre, clowning, songwriting and, most of all, fun! Bringing together local and international musicians, educators and volunteers, the Ukes and Kids project unearths, supports and develops creativity in children through song writing resulting in a fully produced album of original music written by the kids. The Mobile Arts and Entrepreneurship Institute (MAEI) embarks on an exploratory journey searching for 20 exceptionally talented children in rural and urban communities of Southern Africa and this talent search process culminates in the production of commercially viable kids music albums support arts education in disadvantaged communities. Their debut album entitled The Journey was launched at the Jalopy Theatre in Brooklyn New York on 25 March 2017.
Ukes and Kids provides a platform for the innate creativity and expression in every child to be heard and seen
This album is a kind of Ukes and Kids audio diary dedicated to all music lovers across the globe. The Journey is an audio diary with music and songs chronicling the journey of children’s relationship to music, what they want to do as they grow up into adulthood, how music has changed their lives and how they hope their music can be an agent for social change. With the support of Kickstarter funders, The National Arts Council of South Africa, The Ukulele Hall of Fame, The NYC Ukulele Festival, Kala and Mahalo Ukes, friends and family, the album was officially launched in New York. This year, the directors of the Mobile Arts and Entrepreneurship Institute (MAEI), in collaboration with the National Arts Council (NAC) and National Lotteries Commission (NLC), will mark 23 years of freedom in South Africa, with a second week-long music and performing arts camp planned for 23 exceptional talented children drawn from underprivileged communities. This project will bring together local and international musicians, educators, volunteers and children to work on a production of original compositions in promotion of Environmental Sustainability. This camp will be held at the Mopani Rest Camp Kruger National Park from 1 to 7 October 2017.
Bringing together local and international musicians, educators and volunteers, the Ukes and Kids project unearths, supports and develops creativity in children through song writing resulting in a fully produced album of original music written by the kids
This project seeks to promote social cohesion, explore shared values, intercultural understanding, tolerance, unity in diversity, as well use art to promote environmental sustainability. The camp participants will also be given an opportunity to form part of The Planet and Me Ensemble. This initiative will enable the participants to celebrate our rich heritage through song, dance and spoken word. The Planet and Me: Youth Music and Performing Arts Camp programme will infuse the ‘old and the new’ in a week-long performing arts and environmental conservation extravaganza.
To support this initiative, please contact ICRD Group Foundation on:
Tel: +27 11 024 9290 | Email info@icrdgroup.org | Website: www.icrdgroup.org
Find out more about how the NAC celebrates 20 years.
