The new blog series throws the spotlight on Genesis artists in lockdown: directors, writers, actors, musicians and artists, who have had to figure out ways to stay creative and practise their art in a completely new way, sometimes in extremely challenging circumstances.

The Foundation wants to give the Genesis network an opportunity to showcase what they have been up to, to share the challenges they face and to show, with the intention of inspiring others, how they find resilience and creativity in lockdown.

Jim Fortune 

Jim Fortune is a composer, songwriter and arranger. He wrote the music for the National Theatre’s musical version of Pericles in 2018 and for its Olivier Award-nominated musical Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear – The Musical!, based on the award-winning children’s books by Andy Stanton. He is developing a new musical with NT Artistic Director Rufus Norris as part of the Genesis Music Theatre Programme. 

What’s your current confinement situation, who’s on your quaranteam? 

I am currently confined at my home in North London with my partner Victoria and our small boy, Flynn, mostly writing from my shed-studio at the bottom of my garden, looking at a field. 

Are you able to work, are you inspired by what we are going through or do you find it challenging? 

The whole world seems to be listening to each other right now. We are not going out, but the internet is providing some great, inspiring art. I am finding motivation from amateur choirs to symphony orchestras, to Sondheim tributes to the Rolling Stones getting together online. The forced isolation can only focus the mind. That’s good! 

Do you have a routine to stay creative?  

Yes. A routine for me is helpful. It helps having a kid in the house who needs attention – focused time with him, then focused time alone. We always start the day with exercise (inevitably Joe Wicks) and end the day with a walk in our local woods. Three meals a day with the family also gives the day structure. That’s never happened before! 

Do you think what you’re going through will impact your practice long term? 

I think people who try to write music can be natural self-isolators, so nothing will change there. The whole theatre community needs to continue to collaborate and rely on each other for motivation and support. I hope that will be a positive impact – we are in this together. 

Is there any advice you would like to share to fellow artists, audiences or organisations on how to find resilience? 

It won’t always be like this! I understand that, for a while, there will be a ‘new normal’, but audiences will be chomping at the bit for material that artists are cooking up. There will be an explosion of lovely things to come and we can not only enrich people’s lives, but also (crucially) enrich the economy. It may take some time, but be strong and have pride in your jobs. We matter, so lead from the front. Nothing will ever top the experience of live art. 

What are your hopes for the future?  

Once we can go out, I hope that the arts and artists (especially freelancers) will be valued by everyone in a new way. Maybe people took us all for granted. Also, maybe we will get to hear from people that have found their voice during lockdown – forgot they had a talent, and rediscovered it in all the new time that has been gifted to them.  

Anything to plug?

Lots of things have being cooked in my shed, but nothing to plug just yet. Look out for a podcast I am producing called Rod’s Rod-Cast. Myself, theatre director Sean Holmes and writer/comedian Ed Gaughan, will be asking our (well-known) guests three questions about their future, and they will be performing their favourite song with our house band. 

The premiere recording of James MacMillan’s Symphony No. 5 ‘Le grand Inconnu’ will be released on Harry Christophers and The Sixteen’s CORO label.

Recorded live at the Barbican Hall, James MacMillan’s powerful large-scale choral symphony was commissioned by the Genesis Foundation for Harry Christophers and The Sixteen and is performed by them with Britten Sinfonia and Genesis Sixteen, on this recording. The album also includes MacMillan’s The Sun Danced.

The world premiere of the work was given at the Edinburgh International Festival in August 2019 by Christophers and The Sixteen to a standing ovation and rave reviews. The Spectator described how “the whole symphony pulls quietly towards consonance and a vast, cumulative sense of affirmation”, while The Times commented that the work is “likely to join MacMillan epics…in gripping the ears, spearing the heart and moving the soul.”

The Genesis Foundation is Europe’s largest commissioner of sacred choral music and ‘Le grand Inconnu’ is the 22^nd commission for Christophers and The Sixteen. Over the last decade this partnership has resulted in commissions from 14 composers, as well as six albums on the CORO label and the first ever live-streamed concert from The Sistine Chapel. To order the recording of ‘Le grand Inconnu’, click here.

Listen here to the podcast featuring Sir James MacMillan and Cardinal Vincent Nichols discussing the Fifth Symphony.

The Genesis Foundation today announced Rebecca Salter, President of the Royal Academy of Arts, as the winner of the 2020 Genesis Prize. Worth £25,000, the Genesis Prize is the only prize which recognises outstanding mentoring of artistic talent and gives winners the opportunity to expand on their work.

Ms Salter was selected for the 2020 Genesis Prize for her work as Keeper of the Royal Academy where she was responsible for guiding the RA Schools. Reflecting the crucial role of mentoring in the development of new artistic talent, which is at the core of the Genesis Foundation’s ethos, she will use the prize money to develop a new programme that will provide graduates of the RA School with the professional skills and resilience training needed to survive as practising artists in the commercial world.

John Studzinski, Founder & Chairman of the Genesis Foundation, said:

“I am delighted that the 2020 Genesis Award goes to Rebecca Salter for her work as Keeper of the Royal Academy. Everyone at the Genesis Foundation has been impressed by Rebecca’s passion and commitment to nurturing young artistic talent. Her ability to recognise the changing needs of young artists and to develop practical programmes to support them makes her a worthy winner of the Genesis Award.  We warmly welcome her into the Genesis Foundation’s family of artistic leaders.”

Rebecca Salter said:

“I am delighted to receive the 2020 Genesis Prize in recognition of my work with the students at the Royal Academy Schools. One of the founding principles of the Royal Academy was to have a school of art. Over the last 250 years it has trained artists from JMW Turner RA to Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, many of whom go on to contribute to the artistic and cultural life of the UK and beyond. This prize will enable the RA Schools to develop a new programme teaching resilience and to offer post-graduation support.”

Previous winners of the Genesis Prize are Joe Robertson & Joe Murphy of Good Chance Theatre; Hadrian Garrard, director of Create London; Polly Staple, Director of Collection, British Art, Tate (for her work at Chisenhale Gallery) and Hamish Dunbar, artistic director of Café Oto.

A new Genesis Podcast has been released featuring Rebecca Salter in conversation with psychotherapist and lecturer Barry Smale. Focusing on resilience, the pair discuss the programme Salter is starting at the Royal Academy with her Genesis Prize award. The podcast can be listened to here: https://genesisfoundation.org.uk/arts-podcast/ and on all major platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify and Soundcloud. 

LIGHT, a dazzling installation by artist Chris Levine – originally commissioned by the Genesis Foundation in 2010 – goes live on 20 March 2020 in the 12th-century Galilee Chapel at Durham Cathedral.

Compounding its impact will be a soundtrack of sacred choral music, all of it commissioned by the Genesis Foundation and performed by The Sixteen under their conductor Harry Christophers. Among the composers is Durham native Will Todd, whose Among Angels accompanied the first presentation of LIGHT at Holy Trinity Church, Marylebone a decade ago.

The installation, which will remain in place until the end of the year, heralds the Genesis Foundation’s celebrations for its 20th anniversary in 2021. For Durham Cathedral, it marks out 2020 as the Year of Pilgrimage and signals the launch of the Northern Saints Trails, which affirms the Cathedral as a place of veneration and pilgrimage for visitors from all over the world. The Galilee Chapel houses the tomb of The Venerable Bede, a monk considered the greatest Anglo-Saxon scholar, who died in the year 735.

The Genesis Foundation has provided financial support for the installation, for which the headline sponsors are the Friends of Durham Cathedral.

LIGHT features a matrix of lasers in the form of a cross and an image of the St Cuthbert Pectoral Cross, one of the Durham Cathedral’s treasures. An immersive work that gently bathes visitors in light, it reflects the medieval ritual of foot-washing and creates a welcoming space for pilgrims who have journeyed to Durham.

“My work as an artist is a journey into exploring a deeper connection with our higher self through the use of light and meditation,” says Chris Levine. “In this elusive space of lightness, we can recalibrate, harmonise our senses and discover who we really are … Laser light is very pure, just single frequency light, and by focusing our attention on it and surrendering to the sensory experience, one enters a meditative state where stillness becomes a portal to the Divine.”

John Studzinski, founder and chairman of the Genesis Foundation explains that: “In nurturing the work of a wide range of artists, the Genesis Foundation takes ‘art and faith’ as one of its themes. We are delighted to celebrate the Durham Year of the Pilgrimage with a work we commissioned from one of today’s most exciting visual artists and to amplify it with music created for the Genesis Foundation by some of today’s most exciting composers.”

Over the past two decades the Genesis Foundation has established itself as the UK’s foremost commissioner of sacred choral music, engendering some 25 new works, the majority for performance by Harry Christophers and The Sixteen.

Find out more about the upcoming installation here.

On 24 February, Genesis Foundation Founder & Chairman John Studzinski will chair the first of three ‘Cultural Conversations’ hosted by William Russell, Lord Mayor of the City of London at Mansion House.

Funded by the Genesis Foundation, these conversations are part of the Lord Mayor’s focus on the power of arts and culture and will bring together leading figures from the UK’s cultural scene.

The first debate addresses ‘Art for Social Change’ and focuses on art and its ability to help people rethink and reframe their values and behaviour. Panel members taking part are:

• Farooq Chaudhry OBE, Co-founder and Producer of Akram Khan Company
• Chi–chi Nwanoku OBE, Founder, Artistic and Executive Director, Chineke! Orchestra, Europe’s first majority Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) orchestra
• Jemma Read, Head of Bloomberg’s Philanthropy & Engagement Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia Pacific (APAC)
• Indhu Rubasingham MBE, Artistic Director, Kiln Theatre, Kilburn

The second talk, which will be held on 15 April, will take architecture, innovation and place-making at its key themes, while the third talk on 30 September will look at the arts and philanthropy. All three events at The Mansion House are open to the public and will be live streamed via the City of London Corporation’s Twitter account (@cityoflondon).

John Studzinski CBE, Founder and Chairman of the Genesis Foundation, said:

“For a healthy society, open debate and the challenging of orthodoxies are essential. The Genesis Foundation is delighted to support the Lord Mayor’s series of discussions that will examine critical areas of the intersection between the arts and society, and the role of art in transforming communities and individuals. As the Genesis Foundation approaches its 20th anniversary, its work with leading arts organisations has repeatedly shown this transformative power. We are delighted to present many of our partners in this series who will provide insights and experiences that will stimulate meaningful discussions which we hope will ignite debate beyond Mansion House.”

Lord Mayor William Russell said:

“Arts and culture have always been very close to my heart, because they promote a rich and vibrant creative economy and showcase the City, London and the UK as attractive places to live, learn, and work in, as well as visit. Each of these three talks will be a unique meeting of minds between these influential figures, all of them highly respected artists in their chosen field, and our audiences.”

On Friday 7 February, John Studzinski CBE will receive the St Katharine Drexel Award in Catholic Philanthropy from the Board of Founders and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities (FADICA) in Florida, in relation to his charity Arise.

FADICA is a leading philanthropic organisation, bringing together more than 50 private foundations with an interest in Catholic activities. Each year FADICA honours three individuals who have made exemplary and outstanding contributions to philanthropy on behalf of the Church and the Common Good.

John Studzinski has been a leader in the world of philanthropy for the past 35 years. As well as being the founder of the Genesis Foundation, Studzinski ‘s commitment to fighting slavery led him to found Arise, an anti-slavery charity which works to strengthen communities against the scourge of modern slavery and human trafficking.

Alexia Kelley, president and CEO of FADICA, said:

“We are honoured to present the St. Katharine Drexel Award in Catholic Philanthropy to John Studzinski. For many years, his approach to philanthropy has embodied so much of what FADICA promotes: giving that is ignited by faith, in service to human dignity and the common good. John has devoted a large proportion of his personal wealth to many good causes, and he has also given generously of his time – convening people of goodwill, encouraging them to link arms and work together towards their common goals of building a better world. We honour him for his example and thank him for the critical impact he is making every day through his innovative philanthropic ventures.”

Find out more about the award here.

The fourth in the series of 20 Genesis Podcasts has been released featuring actor, broadcaster and singer Alexander Armstrong and conductor Harry Christophers. They discuss their mutual past as cathedral choristers and the wider benefits and joys of singing choral music from a young age. The pair also discuss the growing popularity of choral music, the goals and work of Genesis Sixteen, created through the partnership between The Sixteen and the Genesis Foundation, and the necessity to nurture the next generation of choral singers and composers.

The Genesis Podcast Series is being produced in the run-up to the Genesis Foundation’s 20^th anniversary and consists of conversations between artists and thought leaders presented by broadcaster James Jolly.

Current podcasts in the Genesis Podcast Series are:
-Sir James MacMillan & Cardinal Vincent Nichols on the Holy Spirit and MacMillan’s Fifth Symphony
-John Studzinski CBE, Founder and Chairman of the Genesis Foundation & Jan Dalley, Arts Editor of the Financial Times discussing philanthropy
-Grayson Perry & Hadrian Garrard on the artist today

Listen here.

The next Genesis Fellow at the Young Vic is to be director Jennifer Tang.

Jennifer is an award-winning theatre-maker and stage director specialising in making new work across multiple disciplines. Her practice spans new writing, devised work and theatre with music and she has extensive experience of working with communities and young people.

Jennifer will take over the role of Genesis Fellow in April from Nadia Latif who concludes her tenure at the Young Vic with the sell-out, acclaimed production of Jackie Sibblies Drury’s Fairview.

The Genesis Fellowship, a two-year grant supported by the Genesis Foundation, enables the recipient to develop their craft as a theatre director while working closely with the Young Vic’s Artistic Director, Kwame Kwei-Armah. Opportunities while in the post include supporting the theatre’s programming and artistic planning, contributing to the work of the Young Vic’s Directors Program and mentoring Genesis Future Directors Award recipients. Previous Genesis Fellows include Nadia Latif, Gbolahan Obisesan, Natalie Abrahami, Joe Hill-Gibbins and Carrie Cracknell.

The Genesis Fellow is just one of the opportunities at the Young Vic funded by the Genesis Foundation. As its founder and chairman, John Studzinski, says: “Supporting creatives in the early stages of their professional lives is central to our work. The Genesis Fellowship, now in its tenth year, has proven to be one of the finest training opportunities in the UK for talented young directors thanks to the quality of the Young Vic’s artistic leadership.”

For more information, click here.

2019 Highlights

The Edinburgh International Festival presented the world premiere of James MacMillan’s Le grand Inconnu in August. Commissioned by the Genesis Foundation, this large-scale choral symphony (No.5) based on the Holy Spirit was performed by its dedicatees Harry Christophers and The Sixteen, alongside members of Genesis Sixteen, and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. The concert was recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and subsequently given its London premiere at the Barbican with Britten Sinfonia. Read more here.

The Genesis Foundation’s previous major commission from James MacMillan, his Stabat mater, received its North American premiere in October at New York’s Lincoln Center in a performance by Harry Christophers, The Sixteen and Britten Sinfonia.

The Genesis Foundation is one of the biggest commissioners of sacred music, having commissioned 25 works to date principally for Harry Christophers and The Sixteen.

The Genesis Foundation sponsored the Royal Academy of Arts’ major exhibition, Bill Viola / Michelangelo: Life, Death, Rebirth, which ran from 26 January – 31 March 2019. The exhibition paired installations by pioneering video artist Bill Viola with rarely-seen drawings by Michelangelo, exploring how these artists shared a deep preoccupation with the nature of human experience and existence, despite working five centuries apart and in radically different media.

Inspired by the Bill Viola / Michelangelo exhibition, The Sixteen performed a concert entitled Miserere at the Royal Academy. The programme coupled music from the Sistine Chapel with musical responses from contemporary composers and included the world premiere of Angus McPhee’s Panem Nostrum… Ave Maria, commissioned by the Genesis Foundation.

Alongside the launch of the new Genesis Foundation website, The Genesis Podcast Series of conversations between artists and thought leaders was launched in the run-up to the Genesis Foundation’s 20^th anniversary in 2021. Listen here to the first two podcasts of the series.

A major new partnership between the Genesis Foundation and the Almeida Theatre was announced with the launch of the Genesis Almeida New Playwrights, Big Plays Programme. This annual programme supports emerging and experienced writers in developing new plays for larger stages, giving them the space and time to experiment with form and scale. Find out more here. 

At the Young Vic, 2018 Genesis Future Director Lekan Lawal directed Wild East and 2019 Genesis Future Directors Catriona Shoobridge and Dadiow Lin directed Ivan and the Dogs and in a word. The Young Vic launched a new and improved Genesis Network website to facilitate better the community and peer-support among young creatives. Explore the new website here.

In other theatre news, 2019 Genesis LAMDA graduating scholar Stuart Thompson made his professional stage debut in the National Theatre’s national tour of A Taste of Honey. Abubakar Salim (class of 2014) was selected as one of BAFTA’s Breakthrough Brits 2019. Read more about this here.

Genesis LAMDA Network workshops and mentoring programme continued, with Mono Box recently giving a three-hour workshop with Milly Thomas (Dust, Clickbait, BBC3’s Clique) and Lisa Carroll (Cuckoo, Soho Theatre). Find out more about Genesis LAMDA Network here.

Workshops for the National Theatre’s Genesis Music Theatre Group continued. The theatre held an NT Talk exploring music theatre chaired by Nina Steiger, Senior Dramaturg (NT) with contributions from Marc Tritschler, Music Associate (NT) and Joel Fram. Read more about the partnership here.

Seeking to increase representation within the UK visual arts organisations, Create London selected Losal Chiodak as the first Genesis Young Curator giving him the opportunity to work with them as well as Tate Britain and the Chisenhale Gallery to gain invaluable experience. Read more here.

This year, Genesis Sixteen announced its ninth cohort and 200^th singer, demonstrating the ongoing success of the programme in nurturing the next generation of talented ensemble singers. In addition to performing the world premiere of Le grand Inconnu, the group joined the Hallé Orchestra for their BBC Prom performance of Berlioz’s oratorio The Childhood of Christ.

Photographer Joanna Piotrowska, 2011 recipient of the Genesis Scholarship at the Royal College of Art had a solo show, All Our False Devices, at Tate Britain. Find more on her work here.

The Sixteen’s young artists’ programme Genesis Sixteen will continue its association with opera company and homeless charity Streetwise Opera with three performances of After Winter, based on Schubert’s Winterreise, in July 2020. Performing After Winter with Genesis Sixteen will be baritone Roderick Williams OBE, pianist Christopher Glynn, the Brodsky Quartet and the Ryedale Community Chorus led by Em Whitfield Brooks.

Harry Christophers, Founder and Conductor of The Sixteen, said:

“What an honour to be continuing our partnership with Streetwise Opera and to be involved in their brilliant and important work. Our collaboration on The Passion in 2016 was quite simply life-changing for all of us involved in the project. As a result, we made a firm resolution to always keep in touch with Streetwise and we were delighted to be involved in Celebrating Leonardo da Vinci at Sounds Sublime last year. I am therefore so excited that singers from our Genesis Sixteen programme will get the opportunity to have this experience with After Winter.”

The production will be staged at Middlesbrough Town Hall on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 July 2020 and Ryedale Festival on Sunday 12 July, directed by John Fulljames, Artistic Director of the Royal Danish Opera, conducted by Streetwise Opera’s Artistic Director, Hannah Conway, and with design by Anna Robinson.

Tickets will go on sale in March 2020 on the Middlesbrough Town Hall and Ryedale Festival websites.

For more information on Genesis Sixteen, click here.