Olivia has created a presentation to show her exploration of one artist and one arts organisation for a part B of an Arts Award Explore qualification.
She has researched and explored the work of the American artist Noah Kahan and the arts organisation Z Arts in Manchester.
My exploration into the Artists Noah Kahan
Noah Kahan is a 26 year old folk infused pop singer from Vermont in the United States. Noah was signed to Republic Records in 2017 and his breakthrough single “Hurt Somebody” achieved gold status in the US. So far Kahan has released four albums; Busyhead (2018), I was/I am (2020), Stick Season (2022) and Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever) (2023).
Musical influences:
Kahan’s musical influences include: Paul Simon, Cat Stevens, Counting Crows, Hozier, and Mumford and Sons.
Musical themes:
Kahan’s music is best known for being honest about his struggles with addiction, and mental health.
Kahan has stated that he has suffered with depression and anxiety for as long as he can remember and when he began releasing his music and saw how others connected to his experiences with mental health he realised it wasn’t something to be ashamed of and has given him an outlet to express it and it help other people.
Facts about Noah Kahan:
Noah Kahan has a German Shepherd called Penny
Noah Kahan is Jewish and has “the Jewish Ed Sheeran” in his TikTok bio
He reviews gas stations throughout the US based on their food and alcohol options
The first song he ever wrote was called “Wednesday Is The Worst Days of My Life” And then had to go to mandatory therapy for two weeks with the school guidance counsellor because people were so concerned about his mental health
Who they are:
Z-arts is the UK’s only arts centre dedicated to offering best-practice in creative provision for children and families.
Their mission is to inspire and enable generations of young people from Greater Manchester and the North West to use creativity to maximise their potential.
Z-arts is a place to express yourself, to celebrate your imagination, to have fun, be entertained and dream big! They believe that theatre and the arts are for everyone and they want to share the joy of creativity, imagination and storytelling with children and families in Greater Manchester and beyond.
What they do:
Their building is their arts and theatre hub, where theatre shows take place and where there are plenty of dance, drama and arts and crafts activities to get stuck into.
Their theatre has 230 seats, and they have shows for different ages each season. Z Arts also run weekly participatory classes in all art forms for children aged 0-13 years. These can take place in their gallery, music room, dance studio or one of their other various activity rooms.
Creative learning and education are at the heart of what they do and they work very closely with schools and education practitioners to bring learning to life with the arts.
As an ACE NPO Band 2 Z arts are strategically funded by Manchester City Council to lead in best practice for creative engagement for children, young people and families, which they do by taking a leadership in role in a variety of networks:
Big Imaginations, a network of 22 venues in the North West and Yorkshire, who share a commitment to bringing brilliant touring children’s theatre to the region.
MADE , a collaboration between arts, education and youth organisations across the city which creates meaningful cultural learning experiences to ensure all children and young people have the creative ability to flourish.
Manchester Family Arts Network, an initiative of the Family Arts Campaign. Manchester’s Family Arts Network is a group of venues and organisations from across Manchester that are collaborating to ensure that all Manchester families can get involved in creative events and activities.
Their funders:
Arts Council
Manchester City Council
The Granada Foundation
The Paul Hamlyn Foundation
The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust