What goes on at Platform LDN?

Breaking barriers, initiating change and sparking progression: introducing Platform LDN.

What goes on at Platform LDN?

Could you first introduce yourself for the reader?

Platform LDN is a youth creative collective made up of 16-25 year-olds, all with a passion for the creative industries. 

We have been running for 2 years now and have grown from a team of 15 to now 37. In those 2 years, we've formed our brand identity and begun to establish ourselves by working on some amazing projects. We are supported by industry professionals who have helped every member to earn an Events and Project Management qualification and have also helped facilitate our ideas and projects.

What happens at the organisation?

Platform LDN is diverse, and because of this, our work varies a lot. Our main content is audio and events at the moment, but we have more things in the pipeline. 

One of our big annual events is Soho Music Month, a month-long festival that celebrates the diversity, culture and the rich history of Soho and Carnaby Street areas. Through this, we’ve worked with talent like Julie Adenuga, Maya Jama, Reprezent Radio, Red Bull, and others. 

Beyond Soho Music Month we are in partnership with Soho Radio and have a monthly radio show where we try to break down the misconceptions surrounding the creative industry for those wanting to get involved. This usually involves bringing in experts in particular fields to discuss their stories and their advice for the next generation coming up. 

Soho Radio has also just offered us the opportunity to do a podcast which will be released monthly and will allow a better insight into what Platform LDN is really like on a more personal level. We're really excited about this and can't wait to start.

What do you offer to young people?

We offer various opportunities to young people depending on what level they engage with us. Young people who join the Platform LDN team get the aforementioned Events and Project Management qualification, and they also get access to everyone in the team's existing networks and chances to grow and gain skills through working on live briefs.

For our audience and attendees, they get the opportunity to learn by attending our events or listening to our content. We give young people access to the creative industries in a way they haven’t experienced it before, whilst keeping it fun and casual. 

What activities are most popular for young people and why?

People love the party-style events we do because it's a chance to socialise and get to know people. The value of connections is so vital in the industry and attendees have made new contacts and even gained jobs due to the interactions at our events. 

Beyond that, we believe anything interactive is always good. We like to try to make sure that our audience can take away something from our event. Sometimes it’ll something they’ve made, maybe a skill they learnt, and often it’s new information. But we will always encourage everyone to actively get involved because that's how people get the most out of our experiences.

Could you give an example of a recent project you have run, and the impact it had?

Our most recent event in collaboration with the magazine ‘Filmore’s Floor’ was an example of showcasing young people's talent when you give them the chance to develop their own event. The event consisted of live performances in an open-mic format as well as networking in a central London space. Its impact is multi-layered: it inspires not only the people putting on the event, but also motivates the attendees. 

After events, we get flooded with messages on Instagram about how people can be involved or ways they can work with us to replicate events. This, paired with the fact that the barrier of access to the creative sector is removed, is the reason why the work we do at Platform LDN is so important. 

Have you seen any change in the industry over the last few years? Is it positive or negative?

Definitely a positive one! More and more people are trying to get into the creative industries and as a result, innovation is at an all time high. Traditional gatekeepers are starting to hold less importance and so we can see a whole new group of talent beginning to flourish. 

Collectives like Platform LDN help with this, but also people being confident enough to start their own projects are the reason for this positive change. The only thing that confines people in our industry at the moment are their own ideas of their limitations, but where there is a will there is definitely a way.

Where can people find out more about the work you do?

Keep a lookout on our Instagram and also follow our MixCloud and YouTube pages as content is going to start coming out of there in the near future.

Instagram: @platformldn

Mixcloud: www.mixcloud.com/PlatformLDN/

YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UChmC2iki9_mmMXjRH-G-sdw

Header Image Credit: Platform LDN

Author

Sienna James

Sienna James Voice Team

Formerly Assistant Editor, Sienna now studies History of Art at the University of Cambridge and loves to write about the intersection of politics, history and visual art. Sienna is author of the Creative Education and Instaviews series.

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