To mark the ‘One Year to Go’ point before the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 2014, and the start of Culture 2014, the British Council is pleased to announce its cultural programme for the coming year.
The programme includes support for new music commissions, uniting Scottish and Commonwealth poets, sharing a passion for music and dance between school children in Scotland and Commonwealth Countries, and mounting the first ever nationwide exhibition of contemporary Scottish artists.
Lloyd Anderson, Director, British Council Scotland, said:
“Next year, as well as celebrating sporting excellence, the Commonwealth Games puts the spotlight on Glasgow as a city with a rich cultural tradition. Together with our partners, it’s our aim to add another illustrious chapter to the city’s cultural story.”
“We’re very grateful to Glasgow Life, the Glasgow 2014 Organising Committee and the Scottish Government for their encouragement and support in creating this exciting programme of cultural events and opportunities.”
The British Council’s mission is to use education, the arts and English as tools with which to build enduring international relationships and trust between nations. Culture 2014, the cultural programme for Glasgow 2014, provides a unique opportunity for the British Council to deliver this mission by making international connections between Scotland, the wider UK and the Commonwealth through the exchange of creative expertise, knowledge and ideas; connections that build trust and understanding between people and nations.
Dance
In 2014, Big Dance, the world’s largest dance programme, will commission Scottish Ballet to choreograph a piece to be performed by a group of young people at the Tramway in Glasgow. There will be an opportunity for school children beyond Scotland to learn the Scottish Ballet dance piece and the British Council will promote this through its Schools Online website.
Education
Commonwealth Class is an initiative that provides teaching resources, online debates and interactive activities for schools to mark the run-up to the 2014 Commonwealth Games. More than 100,000 schools, 300,000 teachers and 17 million young people will access themed learning resources and work on collaborative projects in cross-Commonwealth teams. The BBC, the Commonwealth Secretariat and the British Council have joined forces to deliver Commonwealth Class, a Legacy 2014 educational programme. See programme for more details.
Literature
The British Council, working in collaboration with Scottish and Commonwealth partners, will present an exciting literature programme exploring cultural connections between Glasgow and the Caribbean. The programme, Commonwealth Writers, will look at the shared history of Glasgow and the Caribbean through the words and thoughts of some of their best contemporary writers.
Commonwealth Poets United is an international exchange between six Scottish poets and poets from six Commonwealth nations: Canada, India, Jamaica, New Zealand, Nigeria and South Africa. This is a Culture 2014 project being delivered by the Scottish Poetry Library and supported by the BBC, Creative Scotland and the British Council.
Music
India 2014 will create a programme of ground-breaking musical collaborations and cultural collaboration in India and Scotland. The main part of the project will take place in March 2014 when students from the Royal Conservatoire Scotland and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra travel to India, while events and performances are also planned in Scotland, both in advance of the tour and during the Games. India 2014 is being delivered by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Royal Conservatoire Scotland, while the British Council is the international partner.
New Music Biennial is supporting and promoting 20 new commissions by some of the UK’s most exciting composers, to be performed across the country including in Glasgow to coincide with the Commonwealth Games. Commissions include those by composers Matthew Herbert, Niraj Chag and music ensemble Mr McFall’s Chamber. See programme for more details.
Visual Arts
common-wealth is an international exhibition celebrating the work of 30 contemporary artists from across the Commonwealth. common-wealth is led by Edinburgh Art Festival with City Art Centre, with support from City of Edinburgh Council, Creative Scotland and EventScotland. The British Council is an international partner.
Generation is a nationwide programme offering an opportunity to experience the best art to have emerged from Scotland over the last 25 years. Generation will take place in venues across the country from Orkney and Shetland to the Borders and is supported by Creative Scotland, Glasgow Life, National Galleries of Scotland and the British Council.