Embedded Files
Our Small Project Grants supported projects that widened access to folk singing in England. Communities across England have richly varied folk singing scenes and different access challenges. That means there’s no one size fits all solution to supporting and developing access to folk singing.
Our approach
Our approach
By inviting organisers to start new folk singing groups or develop access to existing ones, our goal was to support the people who know their locality the best to test out new ideas and approaches to making singing more accessible.
Watch Fay and Rebecca discuss Access Folk’s Small Grants and why it’s important to work with our partners to find solutions.
Our partners
Our partners
Anna Anise (CHORUS Songwriting, Devon) ran a series of 6 songshare events – unplugged, open-mic style folk singalongs – for members of the LGBTQIA+ community in Totnes.
http://chorussongwriting.co.uk
Instagram: @chorussongwriting
Joanie Bones (London) developed a piece of participatory gig theatre that addressed silences in the folksong canon about womanhood and gender issues. Some of the songs used in the project has been released on her album "The Elephant in the Womb".
Nigel Carden (Saltburn Folk Festival, North Yorkshire) worked to connect community choir members with local folk singing opportunities through a series of workshops leading up to the festival, performance and networking opportunities at the festival, and special welcome nights with the Cutty Wren, Guisborough, Saltburn, and Ring of Iron Folk Clubs.
https://www.saltburnfolkfestival.com
Facebook, Instagram: @saltburnfolkfestival | X: @saltyfolkfest
Jon Coley (Scribblingtown Folk Club, Manchester) started a new monthly acoustic session at The Peer Hat and explored how different venues engage different participants in folk singing.
Instagram: @scribblingtown
Sophie Crawford (Harrison Singaround, London) tried out alternative formats for a traditional singaround by hosting a series of integrated performances by artists of colour and/or queer identities. The project aimed at inviting singers who might not otherwise attend a singaround and to engage regular participants with new repertoire and styles.
https://harrisonvenuelondon.com/events/singaround-london/
Instagram: @harrisonpub
Imogen Fell and Ella Brolly (Wolves Lane and Black Rootz, London) started ‘Songs from the Land,’ queer-led singing sessions that were initially set in a community garden. They've subsequently found an all-season home for their sessions at the Lordship Hub. The sessions welcomed experienced singers, as well as people interested in trying folk singing for the first time.
Instagram: @songsfromtheland
Jennifer John (Liverpool) ran Folk to Folk, a singing project that brought together a globally diverse range of Liverpool-based women to share stories and folk/traditional songs from their places of birth. They documented their stories and songs in a full-length documentary film (watch the trailer). The workshops were also featured in the BBC's Heart & Stone podcast series.
https://www.jenniferjohnmusic.com
Instagram: @jenniferjohnmusic
Miriam MacDonald and Sarah Hinds (Heartwood Social Farming Centre, Matlock, Derbyshire) hosted a series of workshops that followed the cycle of a year from spring to winter, exploring the landscape of the farm through song, craft, and landwork related to plants, people, and place.
https://www.heartwoodsfc.com
Nev Meek (St Gerrans and Porthscatho Old Cornwall Society, Roseland Peninsula, Cornwall) organised a multigenerational folk choir that drew together participants from schools, community groups, and members of the public to kickstart a revival of carolling traditions on the Roseland. Learn more about the project, get your own copy of the award winning Carols of the Roseland (including Tregony) carol book, and watch performances from the carol service at Truro Cathedral.
https://www.stgandpocs.co.uk
Facebook: @gerransoldcornwall | Youtube: @FederationOldCornwallSocieties
Stephanie Meskell-Brocken (The Met, Greater Manchester) organised a series of monthly gatherings for youth aged 14-25 that explored the intersections of folk, punk, and poetry.
http://www.themet.org.uk
Facebook, X, Instagram: @MetBury
Rupert Philbrick (Music at the Heart of Teesdale, Durham) incorporated singing into the curriculum for youth folk bands, aged 11+, building on already established folk music and local repertoire programming offered to youth musicians in the region. Members of the Cream Tees and Wear'd Aliens shared songs and tunes at a local Wassail event.
http://www.mathot.co.uk
Facebook, Instagram: @musicattheheartofteesdale
Roary Skaista (Oxford) ran a series of workshops for participants who were interested in learning to adapt and write folk songs that represent their identities. The workshops aimed to build confidence and offer a supportive bridge to existing folk singing events in Oxford – each workshop immediately preceding an existing singing event where participants were welcomed to share their songs if they wish.
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