Goldsmiths University can seem like a bit of a labyrinth, even to me, and I’ve been here since 2003 when I was a student, then a music technician, then an associate lecturer, and since 2017 the founding director of Alchemy. Sometimes you find a new door, you open it and there, inside, is a sort of new dimension, usually in the form of an individual who has a role that you hadn’t previously imagined, and a new set of possibilities opens up. Some of these roles are new, others have been there for a long time and you have just never crossed paths. One such new ‘dimension’ that became part of the Alchemy map is Michael Eades, who is head of Civic Engagement, who let me know about the Civic Catalysts fund, which supports projects that connect academic research and community outreach. I applied for the funding with support from Julian Henriques’ Sonic Street Technologies research programme (another incredible dimension) and the Albany arts centre in Deptford, who have both been fundamental supporters and collaborators of Alchemy, both key to its continuation, particularly through the pandemic (we delivered online for a year) and the university’s recent financial challenges. We also had support from Michael Eades/ Civic Engagement in shaping the project and encouraging us to think about how the funding and focus would be most useful to Alchemy’s development, offering something that we don’t already have in place.
Six years into Alchemy, we are beginning to step out of what has been an intensive incubation period; we are starting to grow in reach and visibility. I am often in a position where I need to explain what Alchemy is to someone one who has never heard of it, and it’s a fascinating process to find the right language for it, and of course every time I do explain it concisely, or attempt to, I learn more about what it is, what it isn’t, and what it could be. The easiest thing, of course, would be to bring people into the space, to meet the team and young artists, to see us working, hear the sounds and see the space. It became clear that we needed something tangible that we could put in people’s hands that would explain what Alchemy is from a range of different perspectives. After all, I know what it is to me and what I have learnt through the process of delivering it, but what does it mean to others? It requires a collective voice to answer that question.
So, that became our title: Alchemy Is… and because there’s a lot to say, we thought that a book would have a lot of potential to show some of the writing as well as behind the scenes images, lyrics and poetry. I invited Alchemy participants / artists, Alchemy Masters, mentors, teachers, academics, and project partners to contribute a short piece of text that tells what Alchemy is from their perspective. To give the book a feel of the vibrancy and energy of Alchemy, I commissioned visual artist Chiara Ambrosio to make portraits of each contributor and deliver the overall layout and design of the book, with the hope to make the book into an interpretation of the space, giving the reader a sense of the feeling and experience of the project.
Zoe
Entries for the book began to roll in over the summer of 2023, each one a surprise, a celebration, an affirmation. As I write this, I am on my way to Goldsmiths where I will meet Kieron Morris, ex-Alchemy participant and now Alchemy Mentor, and director of the Rezon8 youth project that focuses on supporting young people’s mental health through creativity. He is submitting the final entry before the book goes into its final stage of layout and gets ready to go to print. I had a meeting with Kieron yesterday, and we talked about exactly this: both for Alchemy and Rezon8, those of us who are part of it understand what it is, what it means for the community, what is learnt, but how do we communicate that?
Breathe (by Refrain, Alchemy Master)
There’s no danger making change we wager
speed accelerating
waiting for our gain to take us
We make a leap of faith
and hope the best will come to break
The seal of poverty
The pool of riches god forsaked
()
I could have sped up slightly
But I chose the patience rightly
This place of alchemy
I kept it close
it held me tightly
like an alchemist, they taught the ways
Respect the cause
()
We are revolutionaries
We don’t play to pause
But like lead to gold
We Transform
Are thoughts are bold
And yes We freestyle
We purposely forget to fold
Know my past and you can understand
I know the code
But know my graft and you can understand
I’m in my mode
All these lessons
All these blessings
I can’t even fathom
I’m just grateful for this place
that we can call our sanctum.
——
This is what the process or making the Alchemy Is… book has done for us; it has taken our many voices and formed them into a choir. And, speaking of music, musical creativity is fundamental to Alchemy, of course, and so the book wouldn’t be complete without a mixtape of music and audio from Alchemy artists. Format? We had a fascinating masterclass with NX Records and Kit Records director Richard Greenan, who releases music on vinyl and cassette. The cassette tape appealed to me (as a child of the 80s!) but I was pleasantly surprised to find that some Alchemy artists really liked the idea of a cassette mixtape release with a digital download code for online streaming. I’ve been thinking a lot about visibility and music does have that ephemeral quality that exists in the moment but vanishes like smoke… so the idea of having the music held inside a physical object made sense.
Time is a Wonderful Thing by Kenny, from the Alchemy Is… Mixtape:
Contributors have been paid for their entries thanks to the Civic Catalyst Fund; this reinforces our anti-oppressive ethic of equity and value. Contributors will also receive a free copy, and the original portrait made of them by Chiara Ambrosio.
Jake Armstrong, Teacher (extract from his Alchemy Is… entry)
Addey & Stanhope Secondary School
Alchemy has been life-changing for the young people involved; not only the young people from Addey and Stanhope that have actively participated in the programme but so many other young people from the local community. Alchemy is a family. They support each other. They pick each other up when down. They celebrate the highs. They are outstanding musicians and young creatives. If ever there was a programme that I would be most proud of being a part of, it’s Alchemy. Support. Get involved. Do whatever you can to keep this incredible, life-changing programme going.
—
The book will be launched at The Albany in Deptford on 13th March 2024. If you would like to reserve a place, or would like to learn more about the Alchemy Is… book or anything else Alchemy related, E-mail me at m.kirkpatrick@gold.ac.uk.
I’ll leave you with the closing paragraph of my introduction to the Alchemy Is… book:
I have infinite gratitude for the people who have made Alchemy possible; the team, past and present who attend every week and give everything that they have, the people who have supported with space, kindness, funding, or advice and constructive criticism, and of course all of the participants. We are in the process of better understanding how to make Alchemy sustainable in the long term, and this includes looking into how we can better evidence and evaluate the impact of what we are making. This book, thanks to Goldsmiths Civic Engagement, is part of that process. There are so many stories we can tell, and what you see in this book is a small snapshot of what Alchemy is today. It is not simply a celebration of what we have done, but what can be done, and hopefully a source of inspiration to others who would like to do something similar.
Alchemy Is… contributors include Mikey Kirkpatrick, Lara Pereira, Esther Sayers, Kirsty Collander-Brown, Miranda McVicars, Andrés Peña, Jake Armstrong, Yasmin Ali, Kocoa Brown, Martin Vito, Zoe Olajide, Joshua Hunt, Rofeda Bougaga, Moziah DeRoche, Kieron Morris, Shavelle Jones and Alinda Petek plus lyrics and music from many more…
