£200,000 creative skills boost for children and young people

Hundreds of opportunities for children and young people to make music, write, sing, draw, and perform on stage will be provided thanks to £200,000 of new funding for community arts and cultural organisations across the region.

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) is using Commonwealth Games legacy cash set aside to support arts, culture, and heritage to match fund money 11 community-run projects raised in public donations through the WMCA’s Creative Futures Campaign,  as part of the national Big Give Arts for Impact campaign.

The funding will provide free creative activities to positively impact young people’s lives, from boosting their mental health and wellbeing, to improving social and creative skills.

It will also help to develop the skills they need to be the next generation of authors, poets, performers, and TV and film writers.

This is part of a multi-million-pound investment by the WMCA in the region’s arts, culture and heritage as recognition of its significant economic and social value.

Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands and WMCA chair, said: “This funding for 11 fantastic community-run projects will help them deliver hundreds more opportunities for young people right across our region to get creative, learn new skills, make new friends and maybe even take their first steps on the path to a career in the arts.

“We will continue to work with our partners in arts, culture and heritage by investing another £15 million over the next two years to support the work they do to improve our health and wellbeing, to build pride and create a sense of belonging in our communities, and to acknowledge their importance to our region’s economy.”

A full list of West Midlands charities that will share this new funding are:

• Artis Foundation to run creative learning sessions in primary schools across the West Midlands to boost their wellbeing through performing arts activities.
• Birmingham Children’s Hospital to work with professional musicians and local organisations to run musical activities for young patients and families, providing many with their first experience of live music.
• Birmingham Contemporary Music Group to deliver free creative music-making workshops for eight- to 18-year-olds, giving them the opportunity to compose and perform their own music with professional concert musicians.
• Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre Trust to provide more opportunities for young people from under-served communities to discover and develop their creative talents, confidence and leadership skills in support of its Unlocked ambition to become the most accessible venue of its size in the UK.
• Craftspace to give four marginalised young people aged 16 to 18 from Birmingham two weeks' experience working alongside artists in their studios to get first-hand insight into creative careers to build their confidence and inform future career choices.
• Ex Cathedra to provide Singing Medicine sessions to improve the wellbeing of children who are in hospital for long periods of time while undergoing treatment.
• Highly Sprung Performance to provide first arts experience for children aged three to seven who live in disadvantaged areas in Coventry and Warwickshire, using performance to increase their understanding of the natural world, its benefits, and the role they can play in looking after it.
• Ricnic to run free theatre workshops to give disadvantaged young people in Walsall the chance to write, direct, and perform their own work.
• Stratford Literary Festival to provide books to local schools as part of the festival’s Build a Library campaign which promotes the positive impact reading can have on wellbeing and other life outcomes.
• The People’s Orchestra to run a weekly inclusive community walking group in parks and other public spaces across Sandwell to improve walkers’ mental and physical health.
• Writing West Midlands to offer free places on its creative writing activities, helping to improve writing skills, self-confidence, and the pleasure of telling stories.

Jennifer Holyhead, executive director for RicNic, said: “We’re currently expanding our regular provision in Walsall and this funding will help us to reach more children and young people from the most disadvantaged areas with these opportunities.

“We are extremely grateful to the WMCA and its Creative Futures Campaign for their support and encouragement. This funding will pay for our team to deliver a weekly after school club in a local secondary school and four 'play in a day' workshop days in local primary schools this summer term.”

Jonathan Davidson, Writing West Midlands’ chief executive, said: “Writing West Midlands supports creative writers of all ages and abilities, and champions creative writing in all its forms. Our mission is for all individuals and communities to have equal access to creative writing and equal opportunities to create it.

“In light of the cost-of-living crisis, we wanted to build a Writing for Everyone Fund so that we could give out more free places on our writing courses, initiatives, events, and activities.”

Alex Day, managing director at Big Give, said: “Thanks to the incredible support of our Champion partners, including West Midlands Combined Authority through its Creative Futures Campaign, the recent Arts for Impact campaign has not only raised significant funds for the arts sector but has also helped to make a meaningful impact on young people throughout the West Midlands. Together, we're making a lasting impact through the transformative power of the arts.”

Find out more about each project and how the WMCA is providing much-needed financial support to arts, culture and heritage across the region on the WMCA website.