“Art, freedom and creativity will change the world faster than politics.” – Victor Pinchuk
The ETCH Festival is the culmination of a year-long, student-led project which has used the COP26 summit as inspiration to create a collaborative arts festival around the theme of climate change.
Funded by the RCS Diversity Fund and initiated by the RCS Students’ Union, the ETCH Festival has a clear vision – to nurture versatile and socially responsible young talents who will push the boundaries and launch careers.
Festival producer and BMus student Jasmine Ong has played a key role in bringing the many layers of the festival together. With COP26 starting next week and billed by many as the last chance this generation has of making a difference to the climate problem, we caught up with Jasmine to find out how the ETCH Festival is engaging artists in our community with this global event.
What is the ETCH Festival?
At the ETCH Festival, we believe that art has power. Power to communicate messages and to empower others through our work. Our aim is to enable our friends and colleagues to use this power and share the stories of our generation.
Our artists have worked together, across disciplines, to create projects which collectively celebrate the Earth, grieve for past and future loss, and educate one another on what must be done next. These involve original student works, imbuing old pieces with new messages, as well as community outreach efforts to make our platform more accessible.
ETCH will run from 31 October – 12 November 2021.
What new work has been created?
The diverse group of creators span the students from the School of Music and School of Drama, Dance, Production and Film. We have also engaged in exciting collaborations with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Shared_Studios’ Climate Portal and Lateral North’s After the Pandemic series.
Together, we have created exciting new performances and work including a Chamber Music Showcase, filmed in Cunigar Loop, Amazonic, an exploratory journey of original works from our dance and composition students and a Storytelling and Song series.
The participants have also been involved in community outreach work, bringing art into schools to inspire the next generation.
How can I watch the ETCH Festival?
We are so excited to be bringing the ETCH Festival to you and you can engage with the Festival throughout COP26. We will be premiering all work online from 31 Oct to 12 November and all will be streamed from the RCS Green Room.
The festival opens with a digital sharing of Amazonic on 31 October and all content can be streamed from the RCS Green Room.
We hope you can join in and creatively engage with the climate debate!
Follow the ETCH Festival on Instagram.
Read more on the RCS Green Room.