The Music Works, a Gloucester-based charity, is celebrating being nominated for a Social Action Award for its involvement in the Knife Angel campaign earlier this year. The Knife Angel statue was displayed at Gloucester Cathedral throughout February.
The Music Works was nominated for three awards at the national Youth Music Awards 2023, which took place on 18 October.
The Music Works’ impactful ‘Knife Angel Legacy’ programme was shortlisted for the Social Action Award. This programme was born following the residency of the nationally acclaimed Knife Angel sculpture, crafted from 100,000 confiscated blades, at Gloucester Cathedral in February 2023. The sculpture served as a powerful symbol, advocating for anti-violence and societal change.
As part of bringing the sculpture alive, The Music Works worked with a group of six young people whose lives had been impacted by knife crime and violence, to create music and stories related to the issue. The result was a collection of thought-provoking spoken word and rap pieces over tracks the young artists produced themselves. These were performed in the Cathedral at the launch of the Knife Angel’s residency and sparked the beginning of the programme empowering these young artists to raise awareness and champion change through the creation of an album for release next year and building a campaign to promote it.
Two of The Music Works’ staff members, Kobe Francis and Manon Molyneux, were also shortlisted for the Young Leader Award recognising their outstanding contributions in cultivating the creative and social potential of the young people they work with.
Malaki Patterson, Artistic Director, The Music Works says, “I think it’s important for young people to be recognised for their creative talents and achievements not just on a local level but a national level, so we were really pleased and excited the young people were nominated for three awards by Youth Music. The nominations have been a proud moment for them all.”
The Music Works is a local charity offering innovative music programmes, workshops and projects for young people. The charity was chosen as one of the Bishops’ charities for 2023 to receive the episcopal collections.
Youth Music is a national charity which invests in and influences grassroots organisations to support young people age 0-25 in making music.
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