Dover Changemakers

Dover Changemakers is part of Artswork’s cultural development programme, Activate Young Cultural Changemakers. This is a place-based approach for and by children and young people aged 25 and under in the District of Dover.  

We are working to:

Build the aspirations, capacity, training, and potential of Dover’s young people through relevant and engaging opportunities to improve creative skills
Empower young people to find their voice and develop leadership opportunities and abilities
Support youth-led regeneration, pride of place and community building
Explore creative solutions to improve the communities and lives of young people in Dover
Facilitate the networking of local organisers, creative freelancers, youth services, young people and their schools to support youth led cultural provision

Enhance the offering of creative skills and career support for young people from Dover’s schools
Work with young people in Dover to commission creative projects focused on improving mental health
Celebrate the events and activities that are already happening nearby

The Power of Placemaking

Activate Young Cultural Changemakers, focuses on five key places where we will be exploring how children and young people can be empowered to direct meaningful creative projects, transforming the areas they live in . We will support and train them to develop new skills, investing in quality art commissions that harness their ideas, placing control in the hands of young people and promoting youth-leadership. 

The project is supported using public funding by Arts Council England to deliver on their ‘Let’s Create’ strategy. In the year 2023-24, as well as Dover, we will be positioned in four other areas in the South East – Arun, Slough, The Isle of Wight and The New Forest. This project will run from 2023-2026.

Find out more about the Young Cultural Changemakers programme here.

Digital Badges

Young people who participate in the Young Cultural Changemakers Programme will have the opportunity to earn digital badges; online qualifications that can be used on a CV or applications. Find out more about digital badges here.

This programme will offer the opportunity for young people who have not previously engaged with arts and culture to achieve a Bronze Arts Award.

Meet the Producer

"Supporting Dover is very important to me. Growing up here, I was lucky enough to attend a local secondary school that supported the creative arts.  I was able to access creative learning and try lots of different making methods. I am forever grateful for the experiences I gained from having access to creative learning as a young person and strive to support access to the arts in Dover. I have supported other organisations based in Dover and am excited by the different range of events happening in the town and want to support the brilliant work they do.  I have experienced the changes in Dover over time and am invested in the power of placemaking to ensure that young residents are involved in decision making. Dover is a brilliant place and I want to continue to support Dover residents to celebrate the unique landscape and delve into Dover’s interesting past, present and future, helping to create positive change." - Louise Webb

Get involved!

We want to get the views of as diverse a range of young people as possible – and particularly want to hear from young people who rarely have their voice heard. If you work with young people – whether in school or another youth setting – and would like them to have this great creative opportunity, please get in touch dover@artswork.org.uk.

If you are a young person who would like to get involved, please get in touch to find out when our next community creative consultation will take place dover@artswork.org.uk.

Recent Events

Our work is currently focused on Creative Consultation with young people in a range of settings to gather ideas for ways local children would like to improve their areas, and the sort of creative projects they would like to undertake. 