Chris Packham, Nitin Sawhney and KAWS headline new Sky Arts Amplify commiions

Sky Arts today announced that two new commissions have been selected as a result of its celebrated partnership with the Arts Council England.

The first, Animal Symphony, is hosted by Chris Packham and explores the possibility that animals, as well as humans, may also be affected in some way by music. Musician, producer and composer Nitin Sawhney will be tasked with composing a symphony which contains sounds, patterns and elements of song that animals may recognise and respond to. A performance of the piece by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra will be played to a mixed audience of humans and animals, and the programme will capture their response.

Established in 2014, the Sky Arts Amplify fund opens up a unique opportunity for talent to collaborate across disciplines and develop original television content. This 3-year special initiative invites arts organisations and production companies to pitch to receive funding for new commissions.

To reach the widest possible range of talent, the Arts Council supported four speed dating' sessions across England. The sessions facilitated introductions between arts organisations and production companies to meet and discuss ideas.

Following the sessions, an open call for proposals led to six projects being given development funding. The two these have now been jointly commissioned by Sky Arts and by the Arts Council on the strength of their originality and potential to deliver ground-breaking arts television.

Darren Henley, Chief Executive, Arts Council England said: Through our partnership with Sky Arts we've supported arts organisations around the country to work with television production companies, enabling them to develop their skills and capacity to generate new creative content. I'm really excited to see these two ground-breaking projects come to life. They have the potential to reach a wide range of audiences, giving more people the opportunity to experience and participate in great art and culture.

As a second commission on Sky Arts, Amplify will profile the influential artist KAWS to uncover the impact the digital revolution has made on his art, fame and life.

Since Instagram helped KAWS to establish a huge worldwide fanbase for his art, a special Insta-edit' (10 X 60 second shorts) of this half hour film will be posted exclusively on Instagram, during the first broadcast.

The KAWS Effect will be made by Swan Films (Grayson Perry: All Man) in partnership with Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) to coincide with the artists first UK museum exhibition which continues at the Park with works in the open air until December 2016.

Phil Edgar-Jones, Director, Sky Arts comments; "Sky Arts Amplify project is all about brilliant artists and interesting collaborations - so KAWS, The Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Instagram Curation bring the work of this fresh and original artist to a wider audience while the combination of Chris Packham, Nitin Sawhney and the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra making music for animals is impossible to resist. I am excited and so is my hamster.

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Notes to Editors

Arts Council England champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people's lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries - from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2015 and 2018, we plan to invest £1.1 billion of public money from government and an estimated £700 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk

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