91Èȱ¬

The 91Èȱ¬ today announces the extension of the Blast Studio – an interactive art installation on London's South Bank – until 22 June, giving more young people the opportunity to help create and contribute to the piece of collaborative work in real-time over the internet.

The Blast Tour also hits London's Southbank Centre from 11 to 13 June, meaning participants will also be able to receive free creative workshops, and visit the Blast Studio at the same time.

Since launch on 12 May, 70,000 unique users have logged on to www.blastgetcreative.co.uk, firing more than 100,000 paintballs at the studio canvas and drizzling over 163kg of hot glue to the studio sculpture.

The innovative camera has taken 7,776 panoramic photos of the Studio and 500 metres of participants' stories, songs, thoughts and poems have also been printed live in the studio.

The project aims to help teenagers explore their own creativity by experimenting with different artistic styles in an interactive environment and the 91Èȱ¬ has added new interactive elements for the last five days of the unique project.

A graffiti artist and a cellist have already performed live in the studio, letting users email in requests for what pieces should be played and what should be drawn on the studio walls, with further special guests set to perform throughout the rest of the week.

There are also plans to suspend balloons filled with glitter and white paint from the ceiling in front of the paint machine, so people can try and hit targets using the paintball machine, to help fans of the Blast Studio a chance to try something new before the final day on Monday 22 June.

The Blast Studio lets participants to contribute to the installation by controlling machines remotely via a 91Èȱ¬ Blast mini-site. The machines then create the installation in real time: by firing paint against the walls, adding to a sculpture, creating a custom audio-visual sequence using hanging strip lights, or using automatic typewriters.

Liz Cleaver, Controller of 91Èȱ¬ Learning, said: "The idea of being creative can be pretty daunting, if you don't consider yourself to be particularly artistic. But in fact there's some creativity in all of us and sometimes all you need is a bit of inspiration.

"91Èȱ¬ Blast is all about inspiring young people to explore their own creativity, through technology and interactivity, and thanks to the Southbank we've been able to do something completely different to kick-start off this summer's tour."

91Èȱ¬ 1xtra DJ, and 91Èȱ¬ Blast supporter, Gemma Cairney said: "The creative industries are very competitive and gaining credible experience can really make the difference when applying for jobs.

"91Èȱ¬ Blast gives young people the opportunity to develop their skills in fashion, music, film or dance which will really help them when they're deciding on their future careers."

The Blast Studio has been produced by the 91Èȱ¬ as experimental introduction to 91Èȱ¬ Blast, the social learning initiative that supports the development of creative skills in 13-19 year olds.

Blast online is at the heart of the initiative, allowing participants to upload their own content and gain feedback from both peers and media industry professionals.

This year's Blast tour is visiting 29 cities across the UK offering free media industry workshops, and the highly-successful Blast work-placement scheme has so far put 350 young people a year into placements in the creative industries.

Content created by users on the website and the tour will be collected throughout the year and a showcase will be screened on 91Èȱ¬ Two in November 2009.

Participants can test and flex their creativity, contributing to the Blast Studio by visiting www.blastgetcreative.co.uk. The Studio will be live until 22 June 2009.

The Blast Tour comes to the London Southbank Centre from 11 to 13 June. Members of the public will be able to view the display at all times, by visiting the Blast Studio at London's Southbank as well as online 24-hours a day.

Further information about 91Èȱ¬ Blast can be found at bbc.co.uk/blast.

91Èȱ¬ Blast at Southbank runs on Thursday 11 and Friday 12 June from 9.00am to 6.00pm, and Saturday 13 from 10.00am to 4.00pm.

Films, music, dance and radio pieces created at the event can be shown to friends and family at public showcases (Saturday 1.45pm and 3.30pm), uploaded on to the 91Èȱ¬ Blast website, and may even make it on to 91Èȱ¬ Two's Blast programmes.

All workshops and showcases are free: for more details and to sign up for workshops see bbc.co.uk/blast/events or email blast-london1@bbc.co.uk.

Notes to Editors

The 91Èȱ¬ is committed to education and 91Èȱ¬ Blast is just one of the many unique and varied offerings from 91Èȱ¬ Learning.

For more information on all other learning programmes offered for adults, teachers, parents and students, visit bbc.co.uk/learning.

The Blast Studio was conceived, designed and built by London creative agency Fallon.

Further details of the machines that users can control remotely:

• Paint machines will fire paint pellets at a blank wall. Users can control the shape, colour, stroke and location. The shape can be drawn by a computer mouse – or the participant's finger movements could be picked up mid-air by their own webcam.
• Sculptures can be created collaboratively, with users able to direct a flow of coloured glue on to a turntable, controlling the thickness or the speed and direction of the turntable itself. Each person's contribution will be added on top of the previous – creating a huge stacking structure.
• Light & Music – 30 strip lights will be hung in five different areas of the space. Each set will have individual sounds or a musical scale linked to each bulb. The user will control the lights and sounds temporarily by moving along the different hanging strips of bulbs creating their own musical sequences.
• Writing – printing machines fixed to the side of the space will print out text, symbols and figures generated by users.

Participants can test and flex their creativity, contributing to the Blast Studio, by visiting www.blastgetcreative.co.uk.

91Èȱ¬ Blast

91Èȱ¬ Blast is the 91Èȱ¬'s network of creative teenagers. It provides access to industry professionals both online and in free events and workshops across the UK. With opportunities to showcase talent, enter competitions and get exclusive experiences such as work experience, it's the place for teenagers to get creative. Its aim is to encourage those who are curious about their own creativity, feel uninspired by formal learning and are looking for support and advice about how they might get started in music, dance, fashion, writing, film, art or design.

91Èȱ¬ Blast offers various ways to get involved, online, by participation on a Blast tour, work placements or through various competitions and events. This year sees a revamp of the 91Èȱ¬ Blast online services, with fantastic new video resources that inspire, teach and help develop young people's creative skills. Films online feature expert interviews from rappers, designers and TV presenters, all designed to help build users creative confidence.

91Èȱ¬ Blast also offers various competitions and events throughout the year. One of this year's schemes gives 10 participants the opportunity to create and launch their own fashion label at London Fashion week.

A full list of competitions and events can be found online at bbc.co.uk/blast.

DM