Since 2005, the CAN Young Artists programme has worked with young people, both young migrants and young people from host communities in Manchester and Greater Manchester boroughs.
Beginning in 2022, Community Arts North West (CAN) has developed a programme of work with newly arrived refugee communities in emergency accommodation, unaccompanied minors, and those who have been moved on. This includes young people who now have their refugee status and are beginning to settle in the UK.
The most recent project of the rolling programme, Can Young Artists, was launched in April 2024 and will run for three years, supported by Children In Need.
The programme will run for ten months every year through four distinct workshop projects and live sharing performances, which will take place in safe and accessible spaces in Manchester’s city centre, including UCEN Manchester’s new performing arts centre and Contact. The project will continue to deliver short projects in emergency accommodation settings with young people newly arrived in the UK. The project is a flexible one, where young people can take part in activities as long as they wish, whether in the long term or the short term.
The project will increase young people’s self-confidence and self-esteem, support them to develop creative skills that create voice and expression and help them to build new networks and friendships through creativity and regular organised visits to Greater Manchester’s events and arts/culture venues.
The programme supports their leadership skills, and they can, in turn, become role models to other young people housed in emergency accommodation and encourage them to become a CAN Young Artist.
Young people work with diverse artists across a wide range of media, including visual art, theatre, music, dance, digital arts, photography and makeup artistry SFX. Creative outcomes include live performance-based sharing events, celebrations and exhibitions.
Young people are encouraged to develop and share their diverse cultural heritages, particularly through music. Young people have formed an Afro-Cuban Drumming Bloc. Here, the group weaves live instrumentation – keys, voice, guitar, drums and spoken word – to share, through their eyes, positive messages about the world, sharing a sense of pride in their cultural expression and identity as they adapt to their new lives in the UK.
If you would like more information or know children and young people from 13 to 18 years who would like to be part of the programme, please contact Michelle Udogu, CAN Young Artists Creative Producer, at michelle@comartsnw.org.uk / 0161 234 2975 / 07561 664130
CAN main line: 0161 234 2975
Supported by BBC Children In Need and The Granada Foundation
Photo credit – Shirlaine Forrest
CAN is supported by
