Ireland
In May 2023, five Hip Hop artists traveled to Ireland as part of the Next Level program. Artists T.R.U.T.H (MC), Mike Manson That Be Dancin’ (Dancer), Akim Funk Buddha (Beatmaker), Dirty Digits (Site Manager/DJ), and Kaykay47 (DJ) visited Dublin and Cork for the two-week program. The residency’s local partners, Dublin City Arts Counsel and Music Generation Cork City, greatly assisted in the implementation of the residency.
Next Level, a cultural diplomacy program that uses Hip Hop to create connections, is an initiative of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Meridian International Center. The program promotes conflict transformation, entrepreneurship, and artistic and professional development among younger and underserved audiences around the world.
During the academy, the residency primarily focused on workshops that taught dancing, emceeing, beat-making, and DJing techniques. The two workshops, held at Axis Arts Center & Theater in Dublin and Tramore Road Campus of Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa in Cork, both created interactive and accessible spaces for the participants to collaborate in. The residency also focused on hosting talks about arts education, entrepreneurship, and conflict transformation, engaging student collaborators to discuss their artistic development.
The first week of programming consisted of performances and workshops in Dublin. The residency began with an opening show at Axis Theater in Ballymun. Student collaborators engaged with the Next Level team, creating a solid atmosphere for collaboration throughout the residency’s time in Dublin. The final performance at Axis Theater illustrated the success of the academy, with a lively showing from both students and the residency’s artists. The program’s second week in Cork similarly saw a high-degree of artist-student collaborations, and each of the students present had many opportunities to interact with the educators. Evidenced by the residency’s final performance at Cork’s Marina Market, the residency’s performers were able to seamlessly present a relaxed, almost jam-session-like show with electrifying energy and interplay.
Between the residencies in Dublin and Cork, the program was able to connect with 19 collaborators. The Next Level artists provided student collaborators with an attentive and enriching experience.
