Case Study 2024: Lowender festival and ASONE Hub partnership

Project Overview
In a lively new partnership, ASONE Hub and Lowender Festival have joined forces to champion Cornish culture and language through music and community initiatives. This collaboration has sparked a host of new opportunities for musicians, students, teachers, and speakers of Kernewek (the Cornish language), breathing fresh life into Cornish folk traditions and empowering young people to connect with their heritage.

Activity

• At the heart of this partnership is the Cornish folk ensemble Pergenegi, established through ASONE Hub and Lowender’s successful Music for Youth bid. The ensemble offers young Cornish musicians an exciting space to develop their skills, share traditional reels, and create new compositions, while also exploring international influences with support from the Scottish folk ensemble Feis Rois.
• ASONE Hub and Lowender have created a unique model for teaching and celebrating Cornish culture in schools, including ensemble takeovers with Cornwall Youth Choirs, Cornwall Youth Orchestra, and Pergenegi.
• Through seminars and performances at the annual Lowender Festival, ASONE Hub and Lowender are introducing Kernewek to young audiences, livestreamed by ASONE’s work experience graduates, reaching viewers beyond Cornwall.
• During Lowender Festival 2024, ASONE Hub provided hands-on training in roles like camera operation, live sound engineering, and production management as well as handing the stage over to Cornwall youth choirs and the Cornish folk ensemble, opening career pathways in production for young Cornish residents.
• Inspired by Scotland’s Feis Rois model, ASONE Hub and Lowender plan to integrate Cornish folk traditions in schools, aiming to connect more youth to their heritage and build a network of Cornish music ambassadors.

Impact
This partnership between ASONE Hub and Lowender is more than just a collaboration – it’s a cultural movement. By empowering young people to explore Cornish music, language, and identity, it’s ensuring 
that Cornish traditions thrive and evolve. Through their work, ASONE Hub and Lowender are not only preserving Cornish culture but bringing it forward, sparking joy and pride in a new generation of Cornish artists, students, and cultural ambassadors.

Legacy
ASONE Hub and Lowender plan to expand the reach of their partnership, aiming to create more opportunities for young creatives to connect with their heritage. By integrating Cornish folk traditions and language education in schools, the partnership will help nurture a new generation of cultural ambassadors who can carry Cornish traditions into the future, both locally and globally.

Further comments/information
ASONE Hub and Lowender Festival are thrilled to support the growing interest in Cornish culture and look forward to inspiring young people in Cornwall and beyond. This partnership highlights their shared commitment to providing high-quality, culturally enriching experiences for the youth.