Synthesize me in C Minor

Synthesize me in C Minor
Artist Development Project with Mandeep Singh Kallu
In partnership with The Lit & Phil Society and Northumbria Day Break
May 2010 - February 2011

GemArts supported local North East artist Mandeep Singh Kallu in the delivery of a multi sensory music and dance project engaging with individuals with learning disabilities. Through story development, music production and dance workshops, based around historical research of miners accounts from the Literary and Philosophical Library (The Old Mining Institute, Newcastle upon Tyne), a creative story was developed by participants that provided the backdrop for music production and a dance phase of the project.

The project aimed to address and remove these barriers by developing an electronic sensory network connected to musical instruments and lights. A wide variety of sensors were utilised to enable individuals on all levels of the spectrum to creatively produce work that will lead to a final performance of the created piece.

The feedback from participants, their families and support workers was overwhelmingly positive. The participants journey from when they first began, to when they performed to an audience for the very first time, showed how much confidence the group had developed and it was clear that the participants were excited and proud of what they had achieved.

Artists:

Mandeep Singh Kallu (Creative Lead)
Nadia Iftkhar (Choreographer)
Pawel Jedrejewski (Musician)
Gary Cordingley (Creative Writer)

Performance Date: Saturday February 19th 2011, 6.30pm, venue: Culture Lab.