The Duke of Edinburgh visited Cambridge Junction on Tuesday (November 5) for a guided tour focussing on the charity and arts centre’s work with young people and emerging artists.
Joining His Royal Highness for the tour were Cambridge City Council’s deputy mayor, Dinah Pounds, executive councillor for culture, Rachel Wade, and chief operating officer, Jane Wilson, as well as members of the Cambridge Junction board and staff team.
During the visit, The Duke of Edinburgh met artists and young people who benefit from Cambridge Junction’s programmes and support.
These included learners from the Olive Academy who were taking part in a DJ workshop with DJ Karla Polk (AKA DJ Bosslady), and local young musicians Ollie Massey, Sean Trelford, and Alfie Watts who were sound checking for the venue’s longstanding emerging band night, The Fiver.
His Royal Highness was also able to talk to Cambridge Junction’s current apprentices, as well as former apprentices who now make up a good deal of the current staff team having completed their qualification.
The Duke of Edinburgh also saw members of Cambridge Junction’s artist development programme, Troop, rehearsing new performance pieces.
This included local based dancer, choreographer and writer Bar Groisman, dance and theatre artist Jenna Unwin, and Cassie Hercules, co-founder of ‘CultureClash’ – a new company, exploring pertinent political and social issues through theatre.
Closing the tour, His Royal Highness saw banners made by local young people that will hang in Wandlebury on November 30 for Tree Charter Day.
Emily Dowdeswell, director of Cambridge Curiosity and Imagination, an award-winning arts and wellbeing charity resident at Cambridge Junction, explained how the artworks had been made and how they work with local young people.
The Duke of Edinburgh then unveiled a plaque to commemorate his visit, the first Royal visit to the venue which first opened in 1990.
This will be placed on a newly upholstered seat in J2, which has seen half a million people in the venue since it opened in 2004.
His Royal Highness thanked everyone for their welcome to Cambridge Junction and spoke about the energy of the young people and artists he had met and how he recognised the value of the Cambridge Junction as a vital hub for creativity and young people in the city.
At the end of the visit Cambridge Junction previewed its 2024-2034 business plan which aims to increase the arts centre’s creative learning programme by 40%.
Matt Burman, artistic director at Cambridge Junction, said: “Thank you so much to The Duke of Edinburgh, to the Lord Lieutenant, and Deputy Mayor Dinah Pound and all our guests for recognising the tremendous engagement and connection of all Cambridge Junction's communities, young people, artists and audiences alike, with His Royal Highness’s visit today.
“The work we do year-round, be it welcoming more than 100,000 people from across the city and county to more than 600 gigs and shows, inspiring, creating and sharing power with more than 7000 young people, or supporting artists to realise their creative ambitions.
“This is vital to the life and soul of this city and region, to our creative, inclusive, innovative, inspiring city.”
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