Published: 02 Aug 2018
PRS Foundation, the UK’s leading charitable funder of new music and talent development, have announced the UK and Ireland-based organisations, music groups and composers to receive funding through the co-commissioning and touring programme Beyond Borders.
Beyond Borders was established in 2010 to support high quality co-commissions and tours, stimulating collaboration between composers, performance groups and music organisations across the four different UK countries and, since 2014, the Republic of Ireland.
Beyond Borders continues to highlight how necessary cross-border collaboration and partnerships are for transporting new work from Scotland to a wider audience, and for bringing new work to audiences in Scotland.- Clare Hewitt, Music Officer
The eight exciting cross-border projects, including four led by companies in Scotland, are:
Previous Beyond Borders successes have included Songs of Separation, a collective of 10 female English and Scottish folk musicians whose album won ‘Best Album’ at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2017, and David Fennessy's ‘Panopticon’, commissioned by Hebrides Ensemble and Psappha, which won the Scottish Award for New Music for Small Scale work. Martin Green’s ‘Flit’, combining live music and animation which reflects on first hand stories of migration, also won over audiences and critics nationwide in 2016, and was funded through Beyond Borders.
Songs of Separation
Beyond Borders is a co-commissioning and touring programme run in partnership with Creative Scotland, supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland’s Open Project Fund, Arts Council of Wales, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Arts Council of Ireland / An Chomhairle Ealaíon.
PRS Foundation’s CEO, Vanessa Reed says, “Congratulations to all the organisations and music creators who are being supported by Beyond Borders which has encouraged many award-winning collaborations across UK and Ireland since it was established in 2010. At this moment of uncertainty about future movement across national and European borders, this programme is a timely reminder of how art and artists thrive through cross border collaboration and touring.”
Clare Hewitt, Music Officer, Creative Scotland, commented: “These projects reflect the vitality and diversity of music being created in the UK and Ireland today. We’re really pleased that four exciting projects led by companies in Scotland – AC Projects, East Neuk Festival, Knockengorroch and Sound – have been supported through this round, and that a number of the other projects will involve Scotland-based partners. Beyond Borders continues to highlight how necessary cross-border collaboration and partnerships are for transporting new work from Scotland to a wider audience, and for bringing new work to audiences in Scotland.”
Arts Council of Ireland’s Head of Music and Opera, Niall Doyle said, “This is an important initiative supporting cross national collaboration within these islands. We look forward to seeing the outcomes of these diverse and exciting projects.”
Arts Council of Wales’ Development Officer, Suzanne Griffiths-Rees said, “Beyond Borders continues to take music imaginatively across our countries and promotes works that explore forms, talents and rich collaborations. We are delighted to play our part in making these artistic journeys possible and enable them to reach and engage with new audiences.”
Arts Council Northern Ireland’s Head of Music, Ciaran Scullion, added; “The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is delighted to support this important artist development programme. Beyond Borders offers a tremendous opportunity for talented musicians from Northern Ireland to collaborate with other artists and organisations across the UK in new projects, gaining a platform for their music to tour and to be heard by new and wide-ranging audiences.”
For media enquiries please contact Liam McMahon: liam@prsfoundation.com / +44 (0) 7834 625 985
For further information about Beyond Borders please contact Tina Speed: tina@prsfoundation.com / +44 (0) 20 3741 4828
PRS Foundation is the UK's leading charitable funder of new music and talent development. Since 2000 PRS Foundation has given more than £29.5 million to over 6,300 new music initiatives by awarding grants and leading partnership programmes that support music sector development. Widely respected as an adventurous and proactive funding body, PRS Foundation supports an exceptional range of new music activity – from composer residencies and commissions to a network of talent development partners and showcases in the UK and overseas.www.prsfoundation.com |@PRSFoundation
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here. We enable people and organisations to work in and experience the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland by helping others to develop great ideas and bring them to life. We distribute funding provided by the Scottish Government and the National Lottery.
For further information about Creative Scotland please visit www.creativescotland.com. Follow us on Twitter @creativescots, Facebook www.facebook.com/CreativeScotland and Instagram www.instagram.com/creativescots.
The Arts Council of Ireland/An Chomhairle Ealaíon is the Irish government agency for developing the arts. We work in partnership with artists, arts organisations, public policy makers and others to build a central place for the arts in Irish life. The Council recognises that the arts have a central and distinctive contribution to make to our evolving society. Established in 1951, to stimulate public interest in and promote the knowledge, appreciation and practice of the arts, the Council is an autonomous body, which is under the aegis of the Department of Arts, Heritage & Gaeltacht.
For further information on the Arts Council of Ireland/An Chomhairle Ealaíon please visit www.artscouncil.ie . Follow us @artscouncil_ie and www.facebook.com/artscouncilireland
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is the lead development agency for the arts in Northern Ireland providing the main support for artists and arts organisations throughout the region through a range of funding opportunities. The Arts Council distributes public money and National Lottery funds to organisations that develop and deliver arts programmes across all society. http://www.artscouncil-ni.org/
Arts Council of Wales is responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales. We believe the arts are central to the life and wellbeing of the nation. We invest public funding, using these funds to create opportunities for people to enjoy and take part in the arts.
Our principal sponsor is the Welsh Government. We also distribute funding from the National Lottery and raise additional money where we can from a variety of public and private sector sources. Working together with the Welsh Government, we are able to show how the arts are helping to meet the Government’s policy ambitions.
