SHERELLE's BEAUTIFUL and AIAIAI launch free studio for Black and queer artists
The fully furnished studio will provide a community London space for Black and queer artists to develop ideas and record on a range of professional equipment
AIAIAI have teamed up with SHERELLE's BEAUTIFUL platform to launch a new, free-to-use music production studio in North London.
The fully-furnished studio will provide a community space for Black and queer artists to develop their creative ideas and record on a variety of professional equipment without financial and accessibility constraints.
Applications to access the studio space are open now, which can be done here.
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BEAUTIFUL and AIAIAI have actively collaborated since 2022, with the latter helping to fund free activities for both the BEAUTIFUL and wider Black and LGBTQI+ community. Their initiatives included hosting a series of workshops alongside an exhibition, aimed at uplifting Black and queer voices.
Since, the two have directed their focus upon tackling recurring barriers and obstacles faced by Black and queer artists in the early stages of their career. The studio, it is hoped, will remedy some of these difficulties.
“In the climate that we are currently in, many things are getting more expensive, and people need to divert their money elsewhere," SHERELLE explains. "It’s fantastic to have an initiative like this alongside AIAIAI, which also believes in the same principle of allowing people to create more freely. Hopefully, we can make more of these and do this internationally."
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“Increasing access for artists is a key focus for AIAIAI," adds founder of the Dutch technology company Frederik Jørgensen. "After seeing the impact of our studio partnership with BEAUTIFUL over the past year, we are expanding our set up and moving into a larger studio, as well as opening the space for even more artists through an open application process. Through this we hope to remove more obstacles for developing artists in the community.”
Niamh Ingram is Mixmag's Weekend Editor, follow her on Twitter