Kings Place, London celebrates 15 years of culture, collaboration and community, and looks ahead to further innovation.
Thursday, October 26, 2023
Kings Place, the live events venue and cultural hub in Kings Cross, marks its 15th anniversary this month. Press release attached.
We have received the following press release;
KINGS PLACE CELEBRATES 15 YEARS OF CULTURE, COLLABORATION AND COMMUNITY, AND LOOKS AHEAD TO FURTHER INNOVATION
Over 500 world and UK premiere performances since the venue opened in 2008
19 works commissioned/co-commissioned by Kings Place
A longer-term creative relationship with d&b audiotechnik, and an updated installation of the Soundscape system in Hall Two
New partnership with Marsm, promoting artists from South-West Asia and North Africa (SWANA)
Renewed focus on talent development and opportunities for artists from under-represented backgrounds
Expanding the roster of partnerships with schools, music education charities and community groups
https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/magazine/features/15-years
Kings Place, the live events venue and cultural hub in Kings Cross, marks its 15th anniversary this month. Since opening in 2008, Kings Place has established itself as a centre for performing arts innovation, developing emerging artists, new concert series and formats, festivals, cross-arts collaborations and international artistic relationships, while also providing a home for music education and training organisations and a hub for arts charities. The venue programmes a diverse range of events including classical, contemporary, jazz and folk music as well as spoken word events and live podcasts. As the first cultural building to go up in the Kings Cross quarter, Kings Place’s aim has always been to be a catalyst for change.
Over the past 15 years, Kings Place has hosted performances by a plethora of the world’s greatest artists and creatives, ranging from Martha Argerich to Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Prince to PJ Harvey, Arooj Aftab to Laura Mvula, George the Poet to Alice Oswald, Kate Rusby to Norma Waterson, Vilde Frang to Vieux Farka Touré. In 2016 it established the first major podcast festival in Europe, the London Podcast Festival, and is now the home of UK live podcasting.
Peter Millican OBE, Executive Chair of Kings Place, said ‘At the millennium Kings Place was a dream in my head. I wanted to animate an office building with free public space, and to support performing arts through business events. 15 years later it is a much-loved and respected arts hub in the vibrant Kings Cross quarter. It has been an astonishing journey made possible by many remarkable people who have devoted themselves to creating an exceptional place for performers and for the many thousands of our multicultural audience who come to our concerts, talks and events.’
Helen Wallace, Executive and Artistic Director of Kings Place, said;
‘I’ve been involved with Kings Place since 2009, becoming Programme Director in 2018. It’s always had a young energy and an independent spirit which has blossomed into a highly distinctive offering. Openness and intimacy were built into its design, and I’ve witnessed how that encourages connection and sparks creativity. I like nothing more than to go between our two halls backstage hearing a vocal ensemble in the radiant acoustic of Hall One and a bassy electronic show being spatialised in our state-of-the-art Hall Two, knowing that the artists might collaborate in future.’
Premieres and commissions
Over 500 world and UK premieres have been performed at Kings Place since 2008, and the programming each year continues to prioritise new music and the support of contemporary composers. Kings Place has commissioned and co-commissioned 19 works, including pieces by Nico Muhly, Space Afrika/Jack Sheen, Hauschka, Cassie Kinoshi, Tansy Davies, Thomas Adès, Oliver Leith and Judith Weir. Looking ahead to 2024, the venue will see a diverse range of premieres and commissions from Anna Meredith, Jasdeep Singh Degun, LVRA, Donald Grant, Aileen Sweeney, Ninfea Crutwell Reade and Helen Grime.
Collaborations at Kings Place
Since opening in 2008, Kings Place has worked closely with its family of artistic associates, many of which have office space within the building. With Aurora as Resident Ensemble and the Piatti Quartet as Resident Quartet – taking on the role following the Brodsky Quartet – associates also include Alan Bearman Music, Cryptic, London Sinfonietta, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Poet in the City and The Sixteen. Each concert season Kings Place introduces an Artist in Focus, which this year is Rachel Podger, and the now famous annual Unwrapped series features Artists in Residence. 2023’s Sound Unwrapped featured Hannah Peel and Space Afrika, and the upcoming 2024 Scotland Unwrapped series sees Karine Polwart as Artist in Residence and Jackie Kay and Aidan O’Rourke as Guest Curators.
Kings Place recently announced Marsm – the London-based producer and promoter that platforms artists from South-West Asia and North Africa – as its new Artistic Associate. Marsm has built an extensive network of artists, venues, festivals and cultural organisations across the UK, Europe, North American and the SWANA region, which has allowed the small company to have a big impact across the international Arab music world.
Festivals and series
The programme at Kings Place features an unrivalled range of festivals, themed-weekends and regular series across multiple genres of music and spoken word. In 2016 Deputy Director Zoe Jeyes created the first live podcasting festival in Europe – the London Podcast Festival – which takes place every September, and the venue hosts the Jewish Literary Foundation’s Book Week every spring. Other annual festivals and themed-weekends include Folk Weekend, Bach Weekend, Songlines Encounters Festival, London Piano Festival, Luminate Festival and Noh Reimagined Festival, as well as EFG London Jazz Festival every November. Kings Place’s double-award-winning Unwrapped series runs each year, with Scotland Unwrapped starting in January 2024. The 2023 Sound Unwrapped series saw Kings Place become one of the first London concert halls to create a dynamic programme for 360 spatialised sound with d&b audiotechnik’s Soundscape system.
Future plans
Building on the intensive creative work on spatialised performances undertaken in 2023 for Sound Unwrapped, from 2024 d&b audiotechnik will continue to collaborate with Kings Place’s team to present Soundscape experiences in Kings Place’s Hall Two, expanding the opportunity for more artists to develop projects and build on the training of sound engineers, supported by ACE this year. Described in The Wire as “probably the best live sound I’ve experienced”, the 360 Soundscape system opens up a plethora of creative possibilities for artists.
Kings Place continues to build its talent development initiatives with its partners, including Future Folk (Alan Bearman Music), open mic nights (Marsm) and Global Pillage (Spontaneity Shop). Co-commissioning new music with international partners, and programming premiere performances remain a priority, with the 2024 featuring commissions from Oliver Leith, Helen Grime and Anna Meredith.
Kings Place strives to offer a supportive environment for artists from under-represented backgrounds to build their audiences and communities. It signed up to the Key Change Pledge in 2019 and is a member organisation of Black Lives in Music, and a signatory to its charter of aiming to reflect London’s ethnic mix across all levels of the organisation, from artistic programme to work force, partners and audiences.
Last year, Kings Place donated 650 hours of rehearsal and performance space to music education charities, including National Youth Jazz Collective, Music Works, Chamber Studio, Frozen Light Theatre, International Guitar Foundation and multiple choirs. After a community call out, the offer of space for training, workshops, mentoring and rehearsing will be given to more local organisations. A new initative is also being developed with Acland Burley School, where Artistic Associate the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment are based. Kings Place will be offering the school’s Dreamchasing Young Producers hands-on technical and production insight both at school and in the venue, giving local students the opportunity to learn about jobs in the creative industries. Kings Place will also offer more local schoolchildren the opportunity to enjoy free performances, opening up access to the arts for all.
Kings Place
Kings Place is an open, multi-arts venue, presenting an adventurous and critically-acclaimed programme, with words and music at its heart. Every year we curate a series of festivals to engage a breadth of different communities. We are a place where many audiences belong, a place where people connect with their passion and no-one is lost in the crowd.
Kings Place was developed from a generous act of philanthropy. Driven by a belief that arts and culture are a fundamental part of a thriving city – our work is as vibrant as our location in King’s Cross. We are independently-funded and generate income through ticket sales and the staging of world-class conferences and events.
We are rooted in partnership and have developed a collaborative community of resident partners and artistic associates. By opening our doors, people and creativity can flourish. We provide stages for artists, space for local communities and young musicians, share our home with partners, and offer audiences unforgettable, shared experiences.
We are Kings Place, the cultural pulse of King’s Cross.
Works commissioned by Kings Place;
Nico Muhly: Old Bones (ensemble version)
Judith Weir: On the Palmy Beach
Tansy Davies: The Rule is Love
Chris Watson: Environmental commissions for Nature Unwrapped, and with LAU
Cassie Kinoshi: Three Suns Suite
Cassie Kinoshi & Anne Verheij: echo (installation)
Thomas Adès: Alchymia
John Luther Adams: A brief descent into deep time
Felicia Atkinson & Chris Watson: Things far and near
Space Afrika/Jack Sheen: Honest Labour Live
Laurence Osborn: TOMB! for strings, piano and percussion
Caroline Shaw: Concerto for harpsichord & strings
Oliver Leith: new work
Space Afrika: Soundscape installation
Vessel/Sebastian Gainsborough: Passion
FAUZIA & Maddie Ashman: ETHERS
Helen Grime: new work
Anna Meredith: Dodgems Suite
Random Works: A series of choreographies by members of Wayne McGregor Dance Company with music by Leafcutter John, performed by musicians from Aurora Orchestra
Residents, Artistic Associates, Artist in Focus and Festivals at Kings Place;
Residents;
Resident Ensemble: Aurora Orchestra
Resident Quartet: Piatti Quartet
Artistic Associates;
Alan Bearman Music
Cryptic
London Sinfonietta
Marsm (new this year)
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Poet in the City
The Sixteen
Artist in Focus 23/24
Rachel Podger
Festivals at Kings Place;
Unwrapped series
Jewish Book Week
Folk Weekend
Bach Weekend
Songlines Encounters Festival
London Podcast Festival
London Piano Festival
Luminate Festival
EFG London Jazz Festival
Noh Reimagined Festival (Biennial)
Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9AG.