Emma Underhill, founder of UP Projects, on a new two-year programme which will empower young people with cultural leadership skills

Enfield Young Creatives Network (credit Nat Gee)

Every young person in Enfield has a right to access inspirational art and culture.

Evidence shows that having a creative life significantly improves wellbeing. Kings College London found that just seeing art in a gallery can reduce stress by 22%, while participating is even better; a recent government study showed that young adults participating in theatrical and musical activities felt that their lives had more meaning.

This is why we, at UP Projects, are thrilled to be leading Enfield of Dreams, an ambitious new two-year initiative inviting Enfield’s young people to not only get involved but to also actively shape the future of arts and culture in the borough.

Over half-a-million pounds will be invested into this project, which will empower local young people to gain cultural leadership skills, collaborate on a range of ambitious public art projects, and shape creative learning in schools.

The funding has come from a major grant of £500,000 from Arts Council England with additional support from LocalMotion Enfield, whose co-ordinator Paul Everitt says: “Real change only happens when the people most affected are the ones leading it and this project gives young people the tools, confidence, and platforms to lead, create, and reimagine what Enfield can be.”

Over the last year, UP Projects has been collaboratively developing the project alongside the growing network of Enfield’s artists, cultural organisations and young creatives. It has been inspirational to see the vision for the project growing out of workshops, meetings and ideation sessions with the community.

Themes that came out of this process included making the most of Enfield’s biggest assets, which are our parks and green spaces, bringing together collaborations across different artforms, and encouraging everyone involved to raise the bar, be ambitious and dream big!

Enfield of Dreams will see a cohort of local young people selected to undertake a Young Cultural Leaders programme, where they will gain skills, experience, and confidence in arts programming and leadership. These young people will also co-create a series of arts projects working with local artists and six of Enfield’s creative organisations: Border Crossings, Chickenshed Theatre, Face Front Inclusive Theatre, High Rise Entertainment, and UP Projects.

All these groups will be showcased to Enfield residents in public spaces, drawing visiting audiences to the borough. Border Crossings’ artistic director Michael Walling says the aim is “to open dialogue between our global performance-making and young people who inhabit the borough we are proud to call home,” adding: “I’m sure we’ll be learning as much from them as they from us.”

Enfield’s population is among the youngest in London and England, with 27% of residents under the age of 20. By empowering them to lead, we hope that Enfield’s young population will become the cultural leaders of tomorrow.

UP Projects is a pioneering public art organisation that relocated from central London to Enfield in 2020. A core part of our programme is dedicated to working with children and young people, and we strongly believe that taking part in creative activity can empower young people to grow in confidence and have agency in their communities.

At UP Projects we have been taking artists and creative activities into schools across Enfield for the past five years. Now we will be taking Enfield of Dreams into secondary schools and youth groups, creating opportunities for teenagers to engage in creative learning programmes designed by young people in collaboration with teachers and creative educators. These programmes will be tailored to the students’ needs and aspirations, enabling thousands of school-age young people to participate.

Co-creation is fundamental to this project. We are trying to share power equitably between all participants and remove hierarchies to ensure that everyone’s voices are heard and respected. One of the most important ways we’re doing this is by ensuring that everyone is paid equally to participate. We can’t wait to see how this project unfolds, as young people’s voices are placed at the heart of Enfield’s cultural landscape, with a shared vision that prioritises access to high-quality creative lives for all.

If you’re a passionate Enfield based creative who wants to get involved as either a creative practitioner or a young cultural leader, get in touch! Join the Enfield Culture Network newsletter and be the first to hear how to apply:
Visit enfieldculturenetwork.co.uk

LocalMotion Enfield is part of a UK-wide movement for community-led change – we're proud to partner with Enfield Dispatch to share local voices and stories

This article is published with support from LocalMotion Enfield, part of a UK-wide movement for community-led change

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