Civic change, arts and culture

We support young people to develop their voices and to make those voices heard, whether through developing creative expression into tangible pieces, or as active citizens who want to have their say in making a difference to their local communities. Championing the power of young voices is something we’re passionate about.

Our services develop the creative skills and confidence of young people as individuals and performers.

We offer a range of activities for young people from drama, dance, and storytelling to photography, gaming, history and heritage, and filmmaking. As well as being fun, these activities enhance the communication skills and self-confidence of young people.

We provide workshops, masterclasses and commissions to develop the skills of young creatives in the Black Country and the wider West Midlands. For those who want to showcase their talent and present themselves to an audience, we provide opportunities to participate in performances and open mic events.

Two boys discussing lyrics in a recording studio session with the Music Ain't Diverse Enough project

The benefits of our programmes

Young people who are interested in developing careers in the music industry, including working as performers and producers, can also benefit from programmes that we offer. To find out more about these, take a look at our projects M.A.D.E and Homegrown31.

Through arts and culture we aim to not only develop young people’s artistic voices, but enable them to better understand their personal identities, as well as understanding the social impact art has.

Engaging young people and promoting dialogue

Across all our services, we aim to ensure young people are at the heart of their planning, delivery and overall impact. Although our team remains actively grounded within communities, we understand the best eyes, ears and voices are those growing up in these communities. By constantly engaging young people during these stages of our projects, we ensure delivery of the projects communities are crying out for.

However, we understand this works both ways. We champion young voices through promoting and engaging them in dialogue with local changemakers through platforms such as youth summits. By doing this we are nurturing our future leaders and providing them with opportunities to influence our future direction.

For more about the way we engage young people as changemakers, keep an eye out for our NextGen projects!