Author Sir Ken Robinson is to join the Roundhouse as an associate creative curator in a bid to get thousands of young people involved in the arts.
An international advisor on education in the arts to government, Sir Ken will partner with the famous venue in Camden for the next five years to aim to reach 50,000 new youngsters and in particular those from diverse backgrounds.
As part of the partnership, the Roundhouse announced plans to build a new creative space for young people inside the venue in Chalk Farm Road.
Sir Ken said: “The arts in all their forms are a vital part of the health and vitality of our communities. The Roundhouse has an unparalleled history in the cultural life of the UK and internationally and has long demonstrated its deep commitment to facilitating the creative lives of young people.”
Marcus Davey, chief executive and artistic director of the Roundhouse, said: “At the Roundhouse we exist to provide a place of inspiration where artists and emerging talent create extraordinary work and where young people can grow as individuals.
“At a time when creativity is disappearing from the curriculum and youth centres and spaces for young people are closing - we’re a safe space that all young people can call home.
“We are delighted to be working with Sir Ken Robinson to help us on our mission to transform the lives of even more young people through creativity.
“He is someone that I greatly admire but most importantly someone who will inspire us and help us grow the numbers of young people we work with to over 10,000 per year and will help us lead a change in wider society.”
As part of Sir Ken’s partnership with the venue, a three-day festival celebrating imagination, creativity and innovation will be held at the Roundhouse in February 2019.
Sir Ken has led national and international projects on creative and cultural education in the UK and around the world.
His 2006 Ted talk, “Do Schools Kill Creativity” has been viewed online over 40 million times and seen by an estimated 350 million people in 160 countries.
For twelve years, he was professor of arts education at the University of Warwick and is now professor emeritus.
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