[Youth & Festival’s Stories] BIG BANG Festival

BIG BANG is a festive ode to adventurous music and sound art for young audiences. Several big cultural houses in Europe (and since 2019 also the NAC/CNA in Ottawa, Canada) transform their venue into an adventurous musical labyrinth every year. On their journey, the young audience is faced with, and will experience, a colourful musical programme of music performances, sound installations and concerts.

BIG BANG Festival aims to:

• Enhance dialogue and co-operation between cultural workers and artists who organise and create music for children.
• Facilitate and encourage the transnational mobility of musicians, composers and their work.
• Enrich and broaden the quality of music currently on offer to children in Europe.
• Develop audience development programmes that maximise the chance of children becoming involved in non-commercial forms of music.
• Open the window to cultural diversity in the music landscape for children.
• Encourage artists to create new music for young audiences in a multidisciplinary context.
• Stimulate the exchange of information and knowledge about music projects for children in Europe.
• Achieve a sustainable improvement in the quality of Europe's musical landscape for children by providing cultural and creative players with skills and know-how.

BIG BANG is not just a festival for young audiences but also involves them as participants. This means we go beyond the interactive element in shows by providing children with an active role in the organisation of the festival. This is where the BIG BANG Ambassadors come in.

BIG BANG ambassadors are children that are involved in the festival as festival reporters. They are the 'face' of the festival and reflect on the artistic content. They attend rehearsals and performances, interview artists and visitors, post live information about the festival via social media and also welcome, guide and advise the audience.

We head forward with a creative, playful and inclusive outlook. We hope to inspire and amaze children through sound and music in refreshing ways, as well as to learn from their wonderous minds.

More info: www.bigbangfestival.eu

(General Editor: Simon Mundy)