Our youth board
A group of young people aged 14 to 25 who use their voices, ideas, and experiences to champion youth voice and drive meaningful change across our charity.
How our Youth Board makes an impact:
The Artswork Youth Board takes part in discussion on a wide range of topics, from key issues affecting young people in the UK today to career pathways in the creative industries and key policies that underpin our organisation. As advocates for youth-led change, they offer diverse and unique perspectives that help shape our work.
Their feedback is shared directly with Artswork’s Board of Trustees, ensuring that young people’s voices play an active role in informing decisions and shaping the future of our organisation.
“It’s really important to us at Artswork that our whole organisation is influenced by the leadership that young people can give us. Our Youth Board is increasingly representative of the wide range of young people we work with across all our programmes, and they know better than anyone where and how we can be most effective at empowering young people. They bring fantastic ideas, energy and challenge to Artswork; we will both amplify their voices and be guided by what they say.”
- Louise Govier, Chief Executive at Artswork
Our Youth Board members also have the opportunity to:
- Take part in sessions exploring new creative activities that support the development of their artistic practice
- Develop valuable skills through training in areas such as leadership, confidence, marketing & communications, and project planning
- Gain qualifications like Arts Award and Digital Badges
- Attend two annual in-person meetings that involve cultural visits, planning sessions, and training opportunities
Current priorities and recent projects
The Youth Board’s current focus is on Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), exploring ways to widen our creative offer to new communities of young people across the UK, and creating original art that amplifies their ideas and empowers them to generate positive change in their local areas.
They are guiding planning towards several large-scale projects for Artswork for 2026 – 27, and are developing their understanding of how our organisation works by feeding back on ideas from our team.
Same Difference Zine
A handmade zine using mixed media and collage, created to platform Youth Board members’ creativity and highlight connections across differences. These zines were developed with support from Cut Up Club.
Click the link below to check out the incredible artworks they created to put into the Zine.
Equality for All E‑Zine
The Youth Board recently created an E‑Zine about EDI, emerging from current issues they discussed together, including:
- Racism and discrimination
- Language barriers
- Unlearning hatred
Click the button below to read more about their process and view the Zine.
Join our Youth Board
Do you love being creative? Want to gain experience behind the scenes of a national arts charity, and help ensure young people’s voices are heard? Our Youth Board could be for you.
This is a great opportunity to learn new skills, boost your confidence, and make a real difference for young people in the arts. No experience needed – just curiosity and commitment. We welcome young people from all backgrounds and experiences.
Join our Youth Board
Do you love being creative? Want to gain experience behind the scenes of a national arts charity, and help ensure young people’s voices are heard? Our Youth Board could be for you.
This is a great opportunity to learn new skills, boost your confidence, and make a real difference for young people in the arts. No experience needed – just curiosity and commitment. We welcome young people from all backgrounds and experiences.
Interested? Get in touch with our Youth Board Lead, Beccy, at RebeccaEast@artswork.org.uk