Help Musicians UK puts artists first at The Great Escape with the ‘Help Musicians Artist Hub’
07 May 2019 - Press releaseHelp Musicians UK, the independent charity for musicians, has today announced the creation and full line-up of its first ever Artist Hub at The Great Escape festival (May 9-11) in Brighton.
Using the charity’s unique understandings of challenges faced by musicians, the ‘Help Musicians Artist Hub’ recognises and addresses the obstacles that it knows can directly affect professional musicians, at all stages of their careers. Located at The Projects in Ship Street, the space has been created and curated specifically for artist performing at The Great Escape and Alt Escape.
The artist-first approach at the Artist Hub will feature drop-in sessions from Thursday to Saturday, with Help Musicians staff on hand to answer and signpost artists’ Health and Welfare questions and Creative funding needs. The in-house specialist Health and Welfare team are fully equipped to assist and offer direction on a huge spread of topics, ranging from mental and physical health, to debt and counselling, therapy, physio, hearing health and beyond. In 2018, the charity supported more musicians than ever before, seeing a direct impact of 14,255 with individuals and organisations. Creative Programme alone last year awarded 312 grants, totalling £1.3m towards projects, business support and learning new skills, which helped develop artists’ careers across writing, recording, touring, creating, research and development, wellbeing and business.
In a series of intimate sessions, the Hub welcomes guest speakers including Great Escape headliners Elder Island and their manager Ross Patel in conversation, Speech Debelle and Natalie Price from Arts Council England, Tom Eagle from The Musicians’ Union, vocal coach Lucy Heyman, Director of the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine Claire Cordeaux, David Johnson from Cause4, and Fiona Butterworth from The Musicians Hearing Service. Each expert will provide dedicated information sessions covering their respective specialist subjects across Thursday and Friday afternoons. See full detailed line-up below.
As well as providing information-led sessions, the ‘Help Musicians Artist Hub’ will also act as base for musicians to get away from the hustle. The charity welcomes all performing artists to take advantage of the Living Room to find some useful advice or support whilst recharging or preparing for their next gig.
Find the whole programme in more detail below and online here. Further updates will also be added to the Facebook event page.
Claire Gevaux, Director of Programme, Help Musicians UK, said: "As a charity that reacts to the needs of the music sector, we understand the pressures that can come from working in music and how this affects musicians health, wellbeing and creativity. The ‘Help Musicians Artist Hub’ brings together all these needs in one relaxed learning space and offers artists performing at The Great Escape and Alt Escape some time out to be empowered with knowledge and feel better equipped for success in their careers and life.”
Elsewhere at The Great Escape, Help Musicians UK will be saluting the charity album for Music Minds Matter, Smoke Rainbows, with an In Conversation between several of those involved in the project. Taking place at The Projects on Thursday May 9, 17:30 -19:00, Joe Hastings (Head of Health and Welfare Help Musicians UK) will be joined by Chris Sheehan (Karousel Music), Emily Cluley (Vocalist and guitarist, Bloom) and Helen Whitaker (Therapist and musician) to talk why the charity album was created to support Help Musicians around-the-clock mental health service Music Minds Matter.
Furthermore, as previously announced, Help Musicians UK has also curated a panel, titled ‘The Slacker Guide to Helping Musicians; Futureproofing DIY Artists’ which will take place at Jury’s Inn, on Thursday 9 May, 12.30-13.30. Featuring Phil Taggart (Radio 1), Laurie Vincent (Slaves), AWATE (MOBO Help Musicians funded artist), Paulette Long OBE (music business consultant) and Claire Gevaux (Help Musicians UK), the panel will use Phil Taggart’s Help Musicians UK-supported book, The Slacker Guide To The Music Industry, to explore what musicians need in order to thrive.
Find the whole ‘Help Musicians Artist Hub’ programme in more detail below and online here.
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