Trustees Karl Allison and John Phelps went along to the Get It Together event on the 5th August. Karl kindly put together his thoughts of the day.
“Hip-hop is an art form” read the sign in the window of Colonnade House, and it’s hard to imagine that even the grumpiest Saturday morning shopper found much to argue with as the Get It Together event spilled out of its weekend venue and into the wide open spaces of Warwick Street.
Fellow trustee John Phelps and I were there to hand over a Worthing Community Chest cheque to a project that promised to explore the history of hip-hop through its four essential elements and to bring a bit of extra noise and colour to the streets of the town in the process.
They did not disappoint. People of all ages stopped in the street to watch the graffiti artists at work, to listen to the DJ creating fresh beats, to admire the skill of the MC in crafting new words over the bass-heavy rhythms and to wonder at the sheer energy of the dancers. Young people awaited their turn at a workshop even as passing older residents found an unexpected spring in their step. This was Worthing at its delightful and diverse best and it felt good that we had played a part in enabling the event to happen.
Sean Stakim
It’s just the sort of thing we love to give money to. Here were local people with some talent, a great idea and a passion for their town who just needed some help with the funding. It’s great that we can support just about anything that’s going to improve the lives of local people and bring even more variety into the culture of our town.
David Taylor, Co-Founder of Get it Together thanked Worthing Community Chest for their grant of £950 ‘ Without the support of Worthing Community Chest, the event simply would not have been possible. The approval of funding from Community Chest is a testament to their open minded and supportive approach to the Arts.’
‘Our core aim was to provide an exhibition which was free to the public and open to all ages which made Hip Hop culture accessible whilst demonstrating the benefits of the culture as a means of positive expression for young people; we feel that we have achieved that aim’
Are you developing a project based in Worthing that we could support? Get in touch, our email is grants@worthingcommunitychest.org or call 01903 221080.
