Artsadmin offers a unique and free one-to-one support service to UK-based artists working in contemporary performance, at any stage of their career
Sessions are informal and artist-led, offering an opportunity to talk about anything from artistic ideas and project development to funding and contexts for your work. The format of these sessions has been developed in response to artists’ feedback and research.
Who is the service for? This is a free service that we offer to artists and creatives, which to us includes arts workers, producers, designers, production managers, curators, arts leaders, technicians, writers, dramaturgs, academics and thinkers.
Click the link above for more details and to book a session.
The Jorgy & Cheech show is BACK. Known for their hip hop mixes, rappering and irreverent chat, this week the pair welcomed Manchester talent PiQasso into the studio to get behind the mic.
PiQasso has been made a name for himself on the UK scene, blending 90s hip hop beats with his effortless flow. With this in mind, the Northern rapper is both excitingly unique, with notes of familiar nostalgia running beneath his verses.
Listen to the full show here and watch the live session below.
HERchester are back on the block! Back in spring this year we’ve held a series of lyrical and MCing workshops, led by OneDa, across the North West – in Manchester, Sheffield, Blackpool & Morecambe. The cohort are now returning for a one-night special to round up what they’ve been up to – kindly funded by Arts Council England, and in partnership with House of Wingz, More Music and Rite Trax.
Taking over GRUB MCR on the 15th of August, 6.30PM – 9PM, the female-identifying and non-binary rap cohort will premiere their exclusive cypher, filmed at Manchester’s Blues Kitchen, and a film documenting the behind the scenes action of the project. If that’s not enough for you, the night will also include a live Q&A with HERchester and OneDa.
And this is open to all with the space being an inclusive atmosphere to meet likeminded creatives, whilst also witnessing the incredible community’s talent first-hand. It’s going to be an evening of good vibes and boundless creativity.
Reserve your free tickets here. And for full info, see the flyer below.
Reform Radio is bringing its ‘First Dance’ Wedding Dancefloor to Manchester’s Pride Parade, celebrating the 10 year anniversary of, both, the Same Sex Marriage Act and Reform Radio.
This year, marks our 10th anniversary as an organisation, founded in the basement of a shared-house in Manchester by three friends, Reform’s current directors. In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Marriage Act, and Reform Radio’s first ever radio show in 2013, we want will be staging Reform Radio’s ‘First Dance’ as our entry to Manchester Pride. This wedding dance-floor will be a celebration of the power of love, and love for the LGBTQ+ community.
The playlist for the parade will be made up of songs from our LGBTQ+ community and partners. This is where we need your help!
LGBTQIA+ community and queer wedding attendees, please submit yours and your friends’ first dance songs for them to be played alongside our Pride parade. Send your tracks over to dani@reformradio.co.uk – we can’t wait to hear them and share this celebration with you all.
You may have seen across our socials that we’ve had a busy couple months here at Reform, with a number of participants coming into the space twice a week for our In Focus Content & Social Media course.
Kindly funded by ESF & Skills For Growth, In Focus Content and Social Media is a 7-week course that is designed to upskill people in all things marketing, social media and content creation. All participants have a chance to create an exclusive social media campaign for a Manchester based creative, brand or an organisation. This time round, participants worked with the likes of Yemi Bolatiwa, Studio 88 and Gravy Mag.
We caught up with Dara, who worked on Yemi Bolatiwa’s campaign, to find out more about her time on the course and where she’s heading next.
Introduce yourself (name, pronouns, and what you’re up to at the moment/hobbies etc)
I’m Dara Jackson, I use she/her pronouns and I’m currently graduating from a Masters of research in Neuroscience. My hobbies include watching anime, dancing, singing, painting, and curating digital art on Pinterest.
How would your friends describe you in 3 words?
Joyful, driven and loving.
If you could create any piece of content for yourself/a brand/an artist, what would it be? And who would you want to work with?
I really want to work for Selena Gomez’s brand, Rare Beauty, as a mental health content creator. I’d also love to work for Iris Van Herpen, Gucci or Zimmerman as a fashion or mental health content creator. Rosalia is another musician I’d love to work for too because she inspires me all the time to stay true to my roots.
What prompted you to get involved with In Focus: Content & Social Media?
I am seeking a career in content creation or the creative industries as I feel happiest doing that so this would be a great first step to getting there.
Did you have much experience in content/marketing before? If so, what’s your favourite aspect of it?
I think my favourite part is the idea generation. I like thinking of ways to get in touch with people’s humanity and remind them that everything is ok. Art can remind you of your humanity to fail, to be stagnant and to pause and re-centre. I think I just enjoy making people feel seen.
Where do you find inspiration for your creative content work?
From so much! My relationship with Christ has had a significant impact on the framework I navigate the world with. I think the compassion I experienced from my God is my first filter: compassion and grace. I get inspiration from my mum, dad, brother and sister because they’ve all had lives that speak of struggle, overcoming and making beauty out of ashes. I get inspiration from Greek, Japanese, Trinbagonian, African and Norse Mythology. I get inspiration from Islam, Hinduism and Confucianism. Also I am inspired greatly by my heritage – I’m of African, Indian, Spanish and Irish descent. I am inspired by both digital and traditional art, music like trance, alternative and noir. I pull from anime, Astronomy, nature, my own struggles – I think that’s about it!
Let’s throw it back to your first day at Reform versus now, tell me a bit about your first impressions/feelings/emotions in comparison to how you feel now. What has changed?
I felt safe and like I was somewhere I belonged straight away and that hasn’t changed at all. I think the course taught me to relax and enjoy the process. Reform really knows how to make people feel like they can do anything, no matter what level you are.
What will you take from the In Focus course moving forward & what are your plans from here onwards?
Definitely editing if we’re talking technical. I was so scared of using Premiere Pro before! I also hope to take my understanding of how small details in concepts can make a huge difference in perception, and also my value of teamwork.
My plan moving forward is to work in the creative industries. Creative work is the only work that makes me truly happy now and using art to help people find peace and freedom would be a great legacy to have. We’ll see how it goes!
Come join us at our future courses!If you’d like to get involved or find out more about any of our projects, please drop us an email at projects@reformradio.co.uk.
Ten years of Reform Radio means one thing – we’re going DAB! Pop the radio on because we’re now live in your cars and on your digital smart speakers.
As you may know, 2023 marks our tenth birthday and to continue with our celebrations we’re delighted to announce we are going DAB. For those of you that aren’t familiar, DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) means Reform Radio will be digitally transmitted to devices. Different to FM, this digital transmission allows you to select stations by name, gives it a clearer sound quality and offers more widespread listening.
For those of you across Greater Manchester, you can now pop us on you DAB devices and tune into the good vibes 24/7. This is huge for us to be found alongside our favourite radio big hitters on DAB lists in cars and speakers across the region.
Reform Radio is now on DAB across Greater Manchester and worldwide via your smart speaker.
