No Globe Collective

Best New Talent 2012Creative Scotland Awards Nomination

Who are No Globe?

We are No Globe Collective, we're coming up to our 1st Birthday this December.

We are an arts collective of young people based in Edinburgh. We do club nights, exhibitions, workshops, zines and events focused around celebrating 'Music Beyond

Borders'. We are passionate about reclaiming music that was once deemed 'World' by Western record companies and looking at new ways of engagement and dissemination. 

We are made up of young people based in Scotland.

Musicians and DJs, artists and graphic designers, photographers and acrobats.

We are nominated for the ‘best new talent’ creative scotland award because 2012 has been an incredible first year in which we have achieved more than we thought possible

and really put our name on the Scottish creative map.

Joel White, an Edinburgh University student, DJs at the Kelburn Garden Party

Ellie Vallely, a Telford College student, works on a fashion piece inspired by contemporary African music as part of the No Globe Collective.

What are our aims?

To encourage discussion, debate and exploration of our relationships with international music and arts. To encourage questions like- Where does Scotland stand in the global arts scene? What does the term ‘world music’ mean? How can I, as a Scottish young person, engage with arts from across the world?

To increase exposure and accessibility of the international arts to people who might not otherwise have the chance to experience them.

To empower young people to take roles of leadership, work together in teams and embrace their creative autonomy.

To take risks in an effort to seek out talented practitioners from across the world and bring them to Scotland- to show that Scotland is a centre for culture and the arts.

To encourage discussion, debate and exploration of our relationships with international music and arts.

In May 2012, No Globe artists curated the exhibition, Portraits of South African Subculture. This exhibition featured photography by South African photographer Chris Saunders, as part of a series of events celebrating contemporary South African culture. This was Chris’ first exhibition in the UK.

This was the first show that our young artists had ever curated, and it helped them to build on many skills- sponsorship organisation, budgeting, curating, events planning. The most rewarding part of the exhibition was the opening night, during which we had Chris Saunders live on Skype. The artists asked him challenging questions like “How does race influence your work?” and “Why are there only men in your work?”. This encouraged the whole audience to consider elements of contemporary

How do our events help us to achieve our goals?

and international visual art that may otherwise be overlooked.

The quality of our collective’s curation was recognized by the Scotsman in a 4 star review.

We are currently preparing for our seminar, Music, Screen & Indigenous Politics in Canada- A Discussion with A Tribe Called Red. This discussion will explore the experience of being labelled a ‘world music’ influenced the band, and how people feel about this label. It will also consider how traditional native american music has shaped the modern dance music of A Tribe Called Red.

Crowds gather to hear Chris Saunder’s discuss his work (top) And the new No Globe Zine for sale, which contained writing and interviews exploring our position in the ‘international’ arts scene.

Social Anthropology Society

& No GlobePresent

Music, Screen &

Indigenous Politics in

CanadaA Discussion with A

Tribe Called Red

6.30pm Lecture Theatre 175

Old College£1/ Free for SocAnth members

Thurs 25th October

Followed by

A Tribe Called Red

Live at the Bongo Club

11pm

To empower young people to take roles of leadership, work together in teams and embrace their creative autonomy.

When we began our collective in December last year, we were a small group of young people (19-22) who loved the international arts but were not sure how to get other people on board with our ideas. Now we are a thriving group of over 20+ people with all kinds of artistic backgrounds.

As a team, we support each other to achieve what seems impossible- put on large scale gigs, play at festivals, organize exhibitions, publish our own material etc. Our focus on peer education and inclusion has allowed us to achieve what other music collectives have not- we have a number of female DJs for example. What is really fantastic is when we see people from the collective propose and follow through projects that can be supported by us.

Empowering and inspiring young people with peer support- a case study.

A former pupil of James Gillespie's and Telford College originally joined the collective interested in events organisation. It wasn't long before we found out that she was also a student designer whose work was influenced by contemporary African fashion. She was initially nervous about working for a client to develop something to be publicly displayed, but with support from some of our more experienced student designers she felt confident to contribute.

“Being part of No Globe gave me control over the club nights I could go to, and meant that I could also be part of spreading the word about global music. Thats how I first got involved. But then it helped me develop my ideas when I discussed them with the group. It really shaped my design and was great for meeting inspiring people.”

Her work has subsequently been displayed across Edinburgh, including as the front cover of No Globe’s magazine. She created a fashion piece inspired by Spoek Mathambo (a musician who we brought to Edinburgh’s Bongo Club) which received a distinction grade and she has since been accepted to a prestigious university to study fashion.

To increase exposure and accessibility of the international arts to people who might not otherwise have the chance to experience them.

To take risks in an effort to seek out talented practitioners from across the world and bring them to Scotland- to show that Scotland is a centre for culture and the arts.

When we put on club nights and parties, we never sit back and let our reputation do the work. We always make sure we have a fresh, new and exciting global act to offer our dedicated fans.

Often this involves taking substantial financial risk, and courage, but we find it always pulls off! At our Launch night we hosted ZZK records from Buenos Aires, and the band Super Gauchin. This was their only date in the UK- firmly putting Scotland on the cultural map. Although people had not necessarily heard about the band before, they trusted our judgement and came along.

We were rewarded by the incredible atmosphere and the knowledge that we had introduced 500 new people to incredible, contemporary Argentinian music.

It is experiences like these that promote cross cultural fertilization of the arts. All the young people who are involved in the collective are inspired by the musicians and professional artists we are working with.

For example, one of our DJs is preparing to travel to South America to explore new Argentinian music in a research role. In particular, the actual experience and aesthetic of an Argentinian dance floor (as opposed to playing similar music in Edinburgh!).

• International partnership to reflect Scotland’s global outlook• Making the arts available to people who might not otherwise

have the chance to experience them• Getting children and young people involved in the arts• Enhance the status of Gaelic language and culture

Creative Scotland aims and objectivesthat fit with No Globe’s vision.

Our current project! We are setting up a Sound Art festival showcasing practitioners from

Northern Europe. We are currently working with Gaelic speaking artists who’s work explores the sounds of the traditional scottish language. We

also have Danish and Finnish artists lined up for the event.

No Globe’s first yearWhen? What?

December 2011 Blog launched to showcase new international music, and to discuss issues concerning global music and arts. The blog is an open site that everyone in the collective can contribute to.

Our Launch night! We hosted ZZK Records from Buenos Aires Argentina. It was an incredible night of international dance music, acrobatics and festivities.

We also launched our first Zine (self published magazine) and mix CD, designed by Hannah Clarke, a Graphic design student from Edinburgh college of art.

January 2012 Our DJs played at Departure Lounges Hogmanay Party

February 2012 We showcase some great Scottish DJs playing internationally inspired Music including Dave House and Anonymi, with our first Female DJ taking the decks. Our first Sold out Event!

March 2012 At our Save the Bongo Event we had a huge number of young people contributing. From ‘Live Collage’ interactive art, to Edinburgh’s Drum Society. We exhibited some Students work, and pupils of the Leith School of Art created their own line of T-shirts to wear.

April 2012 No Globe were proud to present Afrikan Boy: bringing a distinctive lyrical exploration of life between Lagos, Nigeria and the UK.

At this party we had hundreds of people dancing to music addressing issues like racism and migration.

May 2012 We began the month with Quabala, a venture that was organized by a collaboration between a few different Edinburgh based groups. Glasgow’s Auntie FLO and music from our DJs.

Then we presented Spoek Mathambo- the biggest star of South Africa's home-grown kwaito scene.

This was linked with the first exhibition curation we had ever attempted! Portraits of South African Subculture, with Chris Saunders. The photos are of African music stars and dancers, and the exhibition received a 4 star review in the Scotsman.

At this event we launched our second Zine. with Interviews with our favorite Scottish Djs, illustrations, discussion of punk identity and politics, and much more.

When? What?

June/July/August A brilliant summer, beginning our festival circuit with the glorious Eden- bringing a circus-tent’s full of global bass to Glasgow’s mighty Jumble Sale Sound system, while also helping out with our Pals Pad Thai Hifi, who had a great time rumbling people’s guts all weekend in the dance tent. All this followed by Kelburn Garden Party, a definite summer highlight.

September 2012 No Globe and Witness presents LV: enigmatic Hyper dub trio. Influenced by UK Funky, Kwaito, Zulu Hip Hop and South African house. This was a great evening to welcome everyone back to university and college.

October 2012 No Globe presents A Tribe Called Red in their only Scottish date.

A Tribe Called Red are three Native DJs from Ottawa, Canada. They bring their own musical creation, PowWow Step; a mix of traditional Aboriginal pow-wow drumming and vocals with the best in bass-bin destroying modern dance; across to these shores for the first time.

We are also organizing a talk, 'Music, screen and politics in Indigenous Canada - In discussion with A Tribe Called Red' We'll be co-hosting this very special event with the Social Anthropology Society of Edinburgh University

Cafe ClubNo Globe’s Cafe Club is a new venture to encourage more people to get involved with our collective. It is a fortnightly skill share with music, networking, brainstorming and exploring.We will be writing articles, teaching people how to DJ, and helping people to explore issues within contemporary international arts and music in a relaxed atmosphere.

No Globe Creative SessionsThese sessions are an effort to get people creating- drawing, painting, collaging. The structure of the sessions- we take an interesting piece of music and then create short creative tasks based on that- means that people that would not normally engage with the visual arts feel confident to contribute.

The finished work from these sessions is combined by some of our student designers to create really special screen printed posters.

Live Collage at the Bongo Club.

We always use student graphic Designers for our publicity. It gives them great creative freedom, exposure and experience working for a ‘client’.

No Globe CollectiveBest New Talent 2012Creative Scotland Awards Nomination

In the year of 2012, No Globe has developed itself from its initial launch to vibrant, multidisciplinary

collective of young people.

It has established itself to be part of the fabric of Edinburgh’s cultural landscape and continues to

develop and grow.