Creative YOU

Creativity is everywhere. Opportunity is not.     

We are part of the solution. The secret is in our name. Every year Creative Youth Network gives thousands of young people a taste and thirst for the arts and culture and the joy, life-skills and opportunity they bring.   

But we want more.   

Creative YOU is our campaign showcasing how we, you and the engaged, emerging and amazing young creatives we support, come together. 

We want to reveal how, together, we are ambition, quality, cultural democracy and social mobility in action. 

Every young person deserves the right to access creativity and development opportunities in the creative and cultural industries.

It all starts with education.

If all young people have access to creative subjects in school, then talented young people from all backgrounds can pursue their passion, develop crucial skills needed in so many industries and improve their wellbeing.


1. Pledge

Add your name and join the many people passionate about bringing creativity back into our schools.   

With all the pledges we’ll be reaching out to headteachers in Bristol and the South West. We hope this will encourage local academies to give more space to creativity in their curriculum.  

Bristol, being the creative city we know and love, can pave the way for other regions to do the same, showcasing the true value of creativity.  

PLEDGE 

 

2. Sign up

Join us by signing up to our newsletter where we share best practice of how to support young people. 

sign up 

 

3. Find out more

Join us by reading and sharing our CreativeYOU report which shows how our work brings opportunities for creative expression and enables young people to explore their talent, regardless of background or circumstance.  

Download our Creative YOU report

 

We are extremely alarmed and disappointed to learn about the proposed government cuts of 50% for creative arts subjects at Higher Education level, due to these subjects ‘not being among its strategic priorities’

The gov consultation is open until 6 May. We have responded to highlight the disastrous impact these changes would have on the accessibility of arts subjects to young people from all backgrounds. We urge you to submit your response too.

Our response to the proposal is that:

  • The proposed funding cut will be catastrophic for creative provision at HE level, affecting the availability of creative subjects and having a disastrous detrimental impact on the creative sector as a whole.
  • The next generation of artists will be denied the opportunity to reach their potential, with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds being the most affected by these cuts.
  • The creative industries are notoriously not diverse. To make arts and culture truly inclusive, a pipeline of talent is needed and this proposed funding cut will further negatively impact a generation who have already faced serious disruption.

We have seen time and time again how creative subjects are being taken out of the curriculum, at every level. In a time when we have seen how creativity sustained all of us throughout lockdown, we believe the importance of creativity should be recognised.

We are here to make the arts and creativity inclusive and accessible. If you want to stand with us, join our #CreativeYOU campaign now.

SUBMIT YOUR RESPONSE TO THE GOV CONSULTATION 

 

PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT FOR ARTS IN EDUCATION 

 

How can we help?