Trailblazing ideas pitched at the third annual King's Cultural Challenge final

Earlier this week, the Edmond J Safra lecture theatre on the Strand Campus was transformed into a dragon’s den-style pitching platform for the future leaders of arts and culture in the UK. 

The third annual King’s Cultural Challenge saw 12 hopeful King’s students pitch their cultural ideas to an expert panel of King’s Cultural Challenge partners, the Southbank Centre, the Roundhouse, the Royal Opera House and the V&A, in the hope of winning one of four paid internships with the cultural organisations. 

The 12 finalists were selected from almost 70 applications from students across the university. All applicants were asked to design an innovative cultural project or programme, that could be implemented by one or more of the King’s Cultural Challenge partners, and that addressed the question: how can cultural organisations inspire, transform lives and influence the world over the next decade? 

The evening was hosted by BBC Radio 4’s Zeb Soanes and introduced by Deborah Bull, Director, Culture, King’s College London. The competition was fierce as an audience of King’s staff, students, finalists’ families and supporters, and representatives from King’s cultural partners, heard 12 inspiring, innovative and at times radical ideas for how the cultural sector can increase engagement with the next generation of audiences and artists. 

All of the students who pitched were supported with guidance and training prior to the final and all delivered succinct, well prepared pitches. Some were outwardly more nervous than others, but there was no doubt that the hardest job of the evening fell to the judges who had to decide between the pitches and pick four overall winning ideas. 

Following an hour of careful consideration and discussion, the judges had reached a unanimous decision and finalists and their guests were invited back into the theatre where the four winners were announced.

(pictured: The King's Cultural Challenge Winners 2015 with judges and Culture at Kings staff. Photo Credit: David Tett / King's College London)

King’s is delighted to announce the 2015 King’s Cultural Challenge winners as: 

Emma Lawrence – BA English with Film, Faculty of Arts & Humanities for her idea: #Flashculture – Bringing cultural organisations’ work out onto the streets, a programme of public ‘flash’ performances and the release of an app linking the hidden histories of towns and cities to the programmes in arts and cultural organisations.

Marie Ortinau – MA Education in Arts and Cultural Settings, Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy, for her idea: Hack the Opera – Upending expectations of opera through accessible imaginative programming which links opera excerpts, comedy and improvisation in small local venues to large scale Opera House programming, for the purpose of attracting new audiences to the ‘real thing’. 

Kat Pierce – BA English Literature, Faculty of Arts & Humanities, for her idea: The Grid – An innovative scheme to rebalance the distribution of cultural funding across the UK, based around three initiatives: Be a Boss, Transport a Brain, Influence the World. 

Ottilie Thornhill - BA English Literature, Faculty of Arts & Humanities, for her idea: The Start Code – A game-based initiative designed to accessibly deliver professional cultural sector knowledge and skills to young people. 

Each student has won a paid summer internship with one of the four Cultural Challenge partners, where they will gain invaluable experience working within an experienced team in the cultural sector and where they will have the opportunity to further develop their ideas. 

There was also a cash prize of £400 given to the student who presented the best overall pitch. This was awarded to Olivia Harrison, MA Cultural and Creative Industries, Faculty of Arts & Humanities, who gave a dynamic pitch for her idea, Make It – an online multimedia competition and festival for younger people to increase their overall engagement with the arts. 

Katherine Bond, Director, Cultural Institute, King’s College London, said, ‘The student body at King’s has huge creative potential and offers a gold mine of energy and new ideas to London’s arts and cultural sector. I’m delighted that the Cultural Challenge has unlocked some of that potential and produced some radical new thinking for our cultural partners to consider. It has been a win-win for all involved: King’s students have had the opportunity to develop their creative thinking through unprecedented access to some of the very best cultural organisations in the UK, and our cultural partners have had input on their programing strategy from the demographic group they are most seeking to attract.’ 

As the sun set over the Strand Campus and the guests began filing out of the King’s Building, there was a feeling of optimism in the air. The dedication, enthusiasm and passion displayed by the Challenge finalists seemed to have inspired and reassured guests and partners. If these 12 finalists are representative of the future leadership of Arts and Culture, we are in safe hands. 

The King’s Cultural Challenge is an annual event. Watch out for more news about our winners and their various adventures while on their internships. Applications for the 2016 King’s Cultural Challenge will open in the new academic year. In the meantime, if you’d like to talk about how Culture at King’s engages with its students by providing unique opportunities to engage with arts and culture, please email culture@kcl.ac.uk.

This article was originally published by Culture at King's.