Campsbourne youngsters get lyrical with Adisa

Tuesday 7 July 2009

A group of young inspired poets from the Campsbourne estate in Hornsey have showcased their lyrical skills following coaching sessions from Performance Poet, Adisa.

The five young people aged between 13 and 18 had signed up to take part in a unique series of 10 weekly workshops exploring lyrics, rap and poetry, taught by the former new Performance Poet of the Year, Adisa. The workshops were held in Camspace, a new community centre on the estate, organised by artsdepot in conjunction with Homes for Haringey and Haringey Youth Service.

Last month five of the amateur poets performed their works on the professional stage as the opening act before Adisa’s new show ‘1968 the year that never ended.’ They delivered a medley of song, poetry and rap in front of a captive audience of more than 60 people in artsdepot’s studio theatre in Finchley. For their achievement each young person will receive an arts award equivalent to an NVQ or GCSE grade.

Pictured: Young people from the Campsbourne estate with Adisa (top hat) and Arji Manuelpillai, support artist for the project.

One of the young poets, said: “It has made me accept poetry more. I have seen you can write poetry about the major things that go on in the world because it has a sincerity about it."

Rachel Fell, Homes for Haringey’s youth development officer, added: “This has been a great opportunity for the young people to give a public perfomance and express themselves and their views of the world around them.”

Camspace is an area within the Eastfield Community Centre on the Campsbourne Estate. The centre was opened in December, as part of Homes for Haringey’s £200 million Decent Homes programme. It is funded by Homes for Haringey, in partnership with contractors, Wates, who are carrying out part of the borough wide refurbishment programme.

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