Southbank Centre's Purcell Room To Reopen With Major New Series 'Purcell Sessions'

The Southbank Centre is reopening the Purcell Room at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in September after 18 months with a major new artistic strand, Purcell Sessions, as the venue gets set to transform into London's number one destination for contemporary culture.

Featuring a year-long programme of over 100 events, Purcell Room will be the 'room for the curious', including a line-up of UK and International Artists across music, dance, visual art, literature, the spoken word and multimedia.

Championing artistic expression across genres, Purcell Sessions will present some of today's most sought-after creatives who are setting the pace for the future of their form. The Purcell Room will be a place where they will be free to experiment and make bold creative decisions. All artists will share an ambition to explore undiscovered artistic territories and forge new creative frontiers, whether presenting bold audiovisual installations, giving an exclusive first look at new material, or developing multimedia, multigenre collaborations.

The new series is set to feature some of next year's most talked about cultural moments, from audiovisual installations from the likes of Nabihah Iqbal and Libby Heaney, FAUZIA, Iglooghost and yuele to exclusive album workshops and launches from Lyra Pramuk and Jamie Isaac, as well as new collaborations, commissions and cross-genre concept pieces with Keisha the Sket, Neil Cowley, Ruth Ozeki, BISHI, Robert Ames and more. Long-term artistic partners across contemporary and classical music will also feature, including the Philharmonia Orchestra, London Sinfonietta and Pekka Kuusisto.

Since Purcell Room first opened in 1967, named after the 17th century innovator Henry Purcell, the venue has been a crucible of international names, including a young David Bowie who played at the iconic space in November 1969 shortly after the release of 'Space Oddity'.

Purcell Sessions launches on Thursday 16 September to build on that legacy with Sarah Davachi and the London Contemporary Orchestra. Two days later, Jeremy Deller and Holly Blakey come together for the first time alongside musical artists Gwilym Gold, Dave Okumu, Oliver Coates and The Smile's Tom Skinner.

Gillian Moore CBE, Director of Music and Performing Arts at the Southbank Centre, said: "The Southbank Centre brings artists and audiences together for unique cultural experiences and we can't wait to take this one step further with Purcell Sessions, bringing its namesake's legacy right up to date with some of today's most daring creative talents. The legacy of the Purcell Room is woven deep into the fabric of this space, from the artists who've played to packed out audiences to the composers who've challenged with bold new work. As it reopens this September, Purcell Sessions will launch us into our next chapter, as this most intimate space becomes our nexus of creativity and innovation".

Bengi Ünsal, Head of Contemporary Music at the Southbank Centre, said: "Purcell Sessions represents an unrivalled new artistic venture for the Southbank Centre. Set to become London's room for the curious, this major annual series for the Purcell Room will see us usher in a new era of artists breaking new ground in contemporary culture. From yeule to Abyss X, these creators and innovators all share a passion to forge new artistic territories, to defy expectation and to present work in dialogue with the times. Purcell Sessions is already generating significant industry attention and we can't wait to see this grow and evolve, as artists choose Purcell Room as their destination for creative and artistic freedom."

The initial line-up includes: Holly Blakey and Jeremy Deller (18 Sep), Gnarly and Nikita Gill (1 Oct), Manchester Collective (2 Oct), Philharmonia Orchestra with Pekka Kuusisto - Music of Today (3 Oct & 28 Nov), Ruth Ozeki and Alam Nathoo (7 Oct), Ill Considered (10 Oct), Bishi (13 Oct), Abyss X (16 Oct), K Music (17 Oct & 6 Nov), Mieko Kawakami (23 Oct), Keisha the Sket (29 Oct), Lyra Pramuk (31 Oct), Robert Ames (4 & 5 Nov), Gigi Masin (26 & 27 Nov), Neil Cowley (4 & 5 Dec), Jamie Isaac (9 & 10 Dec), FAUZIA (11 & 12 Dec), Iglooghost (21 & 23 Jan), Nabihah Iqbal and Libby Heaney (28 & 30 Jan), London Sinfonietta (6 Feb), Laima (9 & 10 Feb) and yeule (5 & 6 March), WOOM (10 March) and major projects with K-Music Festival and the London Contemporary Orchestra. Further dates will be announced soon.

As the programme develops, early career artists will be able to access multi-artform residencies to develop their craft and creatives interested in research and development can access in-house recording facilities to test ideas.

Tickets for Purcell Sessions will go on sale to Members on Thursday 2 September and on general sale on Friday 3 September. Please visit HERE for more information.

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