Issues and challenges

Mirador and its partners are committed to the promotion and advocacy of the development of percussion and its practice. Other key challenges include: 

• The programme aims to facilitate a critical debate on percussion.  
• It aims to provide reports, reviews and analysis of existing provision and emerging work which reflects good practice, the success of regional and national percussion networks and partnerships. 
• The Festival and its associated programmes advocates investment in collaboration and participation in existing projects as the main vehicle for articulating some of its the aims and objectives. However, Heartbeat – Drumbeat also offers new insights and breaks new ground in conjunction with percussion specialists.  
• Percussion is a vibrant tool for the development of combined arts, the creation of  new cross-art form events and to promote and create awareness of the combined arts of communities represented in the country.
• Developing new approaches to communication for networking and programming will remain a central feature of Heartbeat – Drumbeat. 
• We will also invest in new collaborations aimed at generating cross-cultural projects in percussion  
• We will also feature newly funded projects and programmes based on support from Lottery funds, local authority budgets, private sponsorship and percussion groups’ own investment 
• The aim of percussion development is to look across artificial geographical and musical boundaries. We are aiming to launch the first project as a collaboration led by Mirador, Drum Jam and Chakardar but over a period of time to attract partners from the Arts Council’s various regions including the South East of England, East region, London and East Midlands. These are areas where Heartbeat – Drumbeat has well developed links.  
• Mirador are putting together a new application for funding based on both organisations’ extensive track-record and experience. These organisations complement each other and their skills and expertise will bring various initiatives into focus. 
• Journeys with percussion provides interesting news and developments. There will be coverage of artistic policy development in various organisations, the strategic development of a key artform, awards and funding announcements. 
• Information and exchange on education, training and development should help to enrich the agenda for skill-sharing and learning.  

Regular Features

•  Heartbeat – Drumbeat is a new Festival, and to offer a dedicated programme of workshops, seminars and conferences covering some of the issues highlighted above and other targeted workshops to develop access and enjoyment of percussion.  
• Critical issues affecting cross-cultural percussion development and programming, surveys trend, research and development, reviews, new publications, books will also be of interest. 
• Heartbeat – Drumbeat hopes to create employment and training opportunities and should be able to offer appointments, mentoring and work experience.