(CelebrityAccess) – 74 artists and music industry professionals from 12 different countries have been selected by industry and export experts as the future leaders that will take part in the Keychange development programme in 2020.
Participants include Estonian experimental singer and violinist, Maarja Nuut, Berlin-based lo-fi pop artist, DENA, and London alt-soul singer, Anaïs, among others.
According to a release, the programme, which is slated to launch with a full network meetup in Stockholm on February 13th and is being led by Reeperbahn Festival in partnership with PRS Foundation and Musikcentrum Öst, will give the 74 women and gender minority participants all the skills and opportunities they need to get to the next stage in their career. This is the first of three cohorts that will take part in the ambitious and future-facing four-year programme that was announced in Summer 2019, when Keychange was awarded €1.4m from the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.
Alongside the full network meet-ups and mentoring, participants will take part in a ‘Creative Lab’ at one of the 13 festivals that are partnered with Keychange. The Creative Labs will offer showcasing opportunities to Artists, public speaking opportunities to Innovators, plus workshops, seminars, studio sessions, masterclasses and more.
The announcement comes at an exciting moment for Keychange; the number of organizations that have signed up to the gender balance pledge has passed 300, and Talent Norge (Norway), Norsk Tipping (Norway) and Musicians’ Union (UK) – who have lead important research and resources for cases of harassment, discrimination, and abuse of power – have joined the movement as Sponsors.
Christina Schäfers, Keychange Lead and Head of Reeperbahn Festival’s programmes in arts, word and film said: “The Keychange talent development programme lies at the core of the initiative. While the pledge encourages organisations to book diverse talent, we’re helping the talent get to their stages. Following dialogue with many creators and experts during phase one, we are particularly pleased that a more inclusive approach to recruitment has resulted in a very diverse and exciting group of participants for 2020. We are proud to represent many more gender minority participants and a diverse range of ethnicities, genres and career levels. The Keychange team are busy creating a meaningful and impactful capacity building programme, and we’re looking forward to working with them all, and to seeing what they do next. We can’t wait to host this incredible cohort at the full network meet-ups in Stockholm and at Reeperbahn Festival.”
Keychange Ambassador Shirley Manson added: “It is vitally important to me that we continue to talk about and more importantly address existing problems and prejudices within the music industry. I very much appreciate that the Keychange initiative is focusing energy on offering opportunities to artists that help them realise their potential in an industry rife with barriers.”
Listen to the Keychange 2020 artist playlist here.
