ARC YOUTH

Creative Youth Vision is ARC's youth-led vision, driven by a clear ambition for long-term change. Through various projects such as 'Made In Cov' and our 'Holiday, Activities and Food' programme, we aim to challenge and reshape the structural barriers that prevent disabled and neurodivergent young people from accessing creative careers by developing accessible pathways from education into the cultural sector.

We want to create the conditions where disabled young people have consistent access, clear communication, predictable environments, and meaningful influence—because we believe this enables confident participation, the development of creative identity, and full engagement in cultural life. At ARC, we aim to embed these principles through a supported studio model grounded in trust, anti-ableism, and genuine creative ambition, where young people are recognised and supported as artists.

This work is focused on those who are most often overlooked: disabled and neurodivergent young people, including those with complex communication and support needs. Our ambition is to build a programme that not only supports creative development across disciplines such as combined arts, sound, digital media, and movement, but also opens up understanding of how cultural organisations operate—and how young people can influence them.

Central to this ambition is co-design and agency. We aim to create a youth strand where young people shape what happens at every stage: from session design to governance, from access planning to partnership working. By supporting partners to listen and adapt in response, we seek to reduce barriers and build more inclusive, sustainable pathways into the arts.