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In Sept 2005 Yemisi Blake and fellow writer Priscilla Sim, bored of conventional poetry readings, decided to set up their own innovative, fresh and energetic evening of entertainment. With nothing but passion and a small arts venue in Highgate, North London, the two quickly developed a large and loyal following. Originally an open mic night, Poetry Da Da as it was then called, brought together poets, musicians, comedians and performance artists under one roof. With a non-pretentious and relaxed approach the night quickly became an attraction for all ages.
Soon after the success of Poetry Da Da, Yemisi and Priscilla, with their new confidence and experience founded T-Shirt & Jeans, a creative outfit, with the aim of providing quality, affordable and enjoyable events to the London and the UK. The organization has two focuses: education and entertainment.
Since their success in North London, T-Shirt & Jeans have been a regular part of The Whitechapel Art Gallery’s late night programming as featured in Time Out and Shot From The Lip and have also run events at the Truman Brewery as part of the Creative Enterprise Weekend.
Incorporating activities such as a raffle, a resident artist and giveaways, their events regularly attract people who have never been to a poetry event, a recent survey of their audience showed 80% were ‘first-timers’, and 100% said they would be interested in coming back.
2006 has seen T-Shirt & Jeans, develop their work in education.
Most recently the team were invited to run creative writing workshops in an Ipswich school as part of the Ip-Art festival. Working with children was a big step for T-Shirt & Jeans but their workshops, which use items from pop-culture such as Big-Brother, slang vernacular and improvisational drama, allow them to provide an experience for young people that the national curriculum cannot.
T-Shirt & Jeans are changing the way that people, both young and old, view their creativity. Whether it be providing a platform for new artists or providing an audience for those artists to entertain, the work of this organization is an effort to provide the missing link.
The success of T-Shirt & Jeans has largely been down to their entrepreneurial outlook, their interest in building links with schools, cross-promoting with other events, and most recently, building a relationships with universities and radio stations. In Aug 2006, in conjunction with Colourful Radio’s Talent Mix Show, they set out to find new artists and performers for their shows.
T-Shirt and Jeans are a progressive organization with their heart in the right place and their words on their sleeve.
'Top quality performances, and what a lovely crowd of people! You have created an event that will ALWAYS be well attended and loved.' Avocado Records
For More Information visit:
http://myspace.com/yemb
http://www.myspace.com/agirlcalledpriscilla
