Future Artists Programme

Future Artists Programme with Raheel Khan

The Future Artists Programme is a practical 5-day immersive workshop, welcoming aspiring creatives from underrepresented backgrounds, aged 16-19 through an exploration of sculptural sound in response to Imran Perretta’s A Riot in Three Acts. This programme will be delivered by Raheel Khan, an established artist and musician. Guided by Khan’s practice, the group will experiment with radical ways of experiencing sound while exploring themes and ideas of protest music in the UK, canons of communication, music distribution and activism through electronics, synths, pedals and percussion.

Dates: Monday 28 October – Friday 01 November 2024, 5 days (Autumn Half Term)
Times: 10.00-16.00 
Location: Somerset House, Strand, London 
Cost: FREE (travel expenses of up to £15 per day will be covered and lunch will be provided)
Application Deadline: Sunday 22 September 2024, 6pm
 

Who will be leading this programme?

Each Future Artists Programme is delivered by a different artist who shares their distinct practice. This makes each programme unique and means that no two programmes are the same. The Future Artists Programme – October 2024 will be led by Raheel Khan.



Raheel Khan is an artist and musician exploring the interstices of sound, text, installation and performance. Originally a student of Economics, Khan has moved towards an artistic practice that observes the effects of transnationalism, cultural infrastructures & vacant policy, often finding language through subject & material. Current research explores the cyclical nature of time & promise through a compositional framework he describes as machine, devotion and the acoustic.

Khan was recently awarded the Almacantar studio residency & bursary for his MFA degree show at Goldsmiths in 2024, as well as the Lisson Gallery and Aziz Foundation scholarships to start his MFA in 2022.

Selected exhibitions include Longsight Community Art Space, Manchester (2024), Deptford X, London (2023) Ovada Gallery, Oxford (2023), Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester (2022), Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, Edinburgh (2022), FACT, Liverpool (2021). Selected performances and talks have taken place at Cromwell Place, London (2024), Ormside Projects, London (2024), University of Bergen, Norway (2024) Audiograft Festival, Oxford (2023), Attenborough Centre for Contemporary Art, Brighton (2023), Whitechapel Gallery, London (2022), Tramway Gallery, Glasgow (2021), Manchester International Festival, Manchester (2021).

Upcoming exhibitions, workshops, residencies and projects are with Somerset House, London (2024), Lisson Gallery, London (2024), Bomb Factory Art Foundation, London (2024), Palmer Gallery, London (2024), Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham (2025), New Art Exchange, Nottingham (2025), Goldsmiths MFA, London (2025)

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What will I be doing on the Programme?

The Future Artists Programme is a five-day experimental, educational and open-ended proposal for creative questioning and exploration. Using Imran Perretta’s A Riot in Three Acts as the creative source, the group will explore themes of youth and resistance, urban rebellion and the perception of ‘anti-social’ behaviour through sound, music and spoken word.

Guided by Raheel Khan, the group will explore the sound of our physical environment, both as object and subject, experiment with different ways of capturing sound and start building a small archive of field recordings. Towards the end of the week, the group will devise a sharing to be performed in the exhibition space.

During the 5 days, you will;

  • Have an introduction to Somerset House and Raheel Khan’s practice
  • Explore the possibilities of sound, music and spoken word using electronics, acoustics, and improvisation techniques
  • Discover music making software and technical equipment (synthesisers, field recorders, percussion, effect pedals and PA equipment)
  • Get an insight into how various music movements related to youth activism and resistance. Explore the canons of communication and distribution of grime and early dubstep
  • Experience a week in the life of a practising artist and gain an understanding of how you could also pursue a career in the creative industries
  • Contribute your creative ideas and, as a group, build towards a sound performance - an activation of the exhibition space
  • Connect with likeminded creatives

Each day will follow a set structure with time for rest breaks. On each day, there will be a 1-hour lunch break with lunch provided. 

What experience do I need?

This programme is for young people with an interest in sound and electronic music. You should be happy to contribute to creative discussions and work with others, open to trying new things with a desire to explore your own creative process. We don’t ask for any prior experience, but when applying, it’s important that you can demonstrate an interest in exploring creativity through sound and music.

Who can apply?

This opportunity is for young people ages 16-19 who are interested in spoken word, sound and music who haven’t studied an art subject at university level. This programme will prioritise people from underrepresented backgrounds* particularly those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. If you are unsure if this applies to you, please ready the guidance below.

Please note, it is important that you can attend all 5 days of the project. Applicants must be able to travel to Somerset House in Central London daily. Please look at the ‘what does attendance cost’ tab below for details about how we can support your travel within London.

*The Inclusive Talent Engagement team at Somerset House acknowledges that particular people are underrepresented in the creative sector. Particularly those who identify as:

  • Ethnically diverse and/or Global Majority
  • Living with a disability
  • Working class and/or from a lower socio-economic background**
  • LGBTQIA+ and/or non-binary

We also acknowledge that people face barriers in many ways not mentioned above, including:

  • Affected by a long-term health condition or impairment
  • Affected by homelessness
  • Care-leaver/carer 
  • Unemployed and/or have received welfare benefits 
  • Migrant or refugee status

**Fair access to working in the arts remains one of the most urgent issues facing the sector today, with those from lower socio-economic backgrounds still vastly underrepresented amongst the artists and employees of UK theatres, festivals, galleries and arts organisations of all kinds. Our team has drawn from Jerwood Arts’ ‘SOCIO-ECONOMIC DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN THE ARTS A TOOLKIT FOR EMPLOYERS’ to define how to determine who falls into this category. We acknowledge this needs work and often, things aren’t always black and white, for now this is the framework we are using to determine this;

Some questions that might help define lower socio-economic background:

  1. Type of school attended at age 11-16 
  2. Were you eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) 
  3. Did your parents go to university?
  4. Parents occupation when you were aged 14
  5. Did your parents receive income benefits for a long period?
  6. Were your parents unemployed either for long periods of time or intermittently?
Why should I apply?

The Future Artists Programme offers a unique opportunity to explore an Artist’s process, studio practice and day-to-day working world. You will be guided  by artists and creators who have established themselves in the arts world and gain an understanding of how you could pursue a career as an artist. The programme will encourage curiosity, inviting participants to develop new ways of thinking, and amplify their unique artistic voice. 

If you’re unsure if this programme is for you, ask yourself these questions: 

  • do I enjoy collaboration, experimentation and creating work with others? 
  • am I interested in making music, creating interesting sounds and thinking about my creative process?
  • do I spend my spare time making music or thinking about how I could do this? 
  • do I want to experience working within a group to create a performance? 
  • would I like to pursue sound, music or spoken word as a career path or study a creative course at college/university?

If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, it’s likely that this is the programme for you – we'd encourage you to apply!

If you answered no to all questions, it’s unlikely that you’d benefit the most from this programme.
 

What does attendance cost?

The week is free of charge to participants. Reasonable travel expenses of up to £15 per day will be covered and lunch will be provided. These are the ways that we can support your travel to and from Somerset House: 

  • Pre-book your train tickets to a London station (maximum £15 per day)
  • Purchase a 1-week travel card
  • Loan a pre-topped up Oyster Card
  • Help you to plan your journey to and from Somerset House

In most cases, we are not able to reimburse travel costs and can only buy tickets in advance on your behalf. 
 

What is Upgrade Yourself?

Upgrade Yourself is Somerset House's creative skills programme aimed at deepening and widening engagement. Managed by the Inclusive Talent Engagement team, the Upgrade Yourself programme exists to break down barriers and build confidence for underrepresented, aspiring creatives aged 16-30. 

Using the creative community at Somerset House and beyond as a resource, our programmes provide emerging talent access to skills, experiences and progression routes to pursue careers in the creative sector.   
 

Access

The Future Artists Programme will take place in the River Rooms at Somerset House. The space is on the ground floor and accessible to wheelchair users. There is an accessible toilet close by. Full details about accessibility at Somerset House are here

If you require additional support to take part in this programme, please let us know in your application. 
 

To apply for this opportunity, please submit an application via this form: