Enfield of Dreams invites young people to help transform the borough’s cultural landscape
Arts Council England has awarded a £500,000 Place Partnership National Lottery grant to launch Enfield of Dreams.
The two-year initiative aims to empower young people to co-create public art, develop leadership skills, and help shape the borough’s cultural landscape in Enfield.
Enfield of Dreams will be spearheaded by Up Projects, in partnership with local organisations and creatives.
Young creatives in Enfield will be able to actively shape the borough’s cultural future by participating in the newly launched Enfield of Dreams programme.
This exciting two-year initiative will include a Young Cultural Leaders project and an artist-led learning programme in the borough’s secondary schools. There will be an emphasis on training and skills development. It will also help young people co-create public projects and engage in training sessions to become future creative leaders, helping shape the borough’s cultural activities.
Led by UP Projects, an award-winning Enfield based public art organisation, the initiative works in partnership with local organisations, including the Council, Chickenshed Theatre, Face Front Theatre, Platinum Performing Arts, Border Crossings, High Rise Theatre, as well as other creative individuals.
The project has been made possible through a £500,000 Place Partnership National Lottery grant from Arts Council England awarded to awarded to organisations in the borough, helping boost the level of cultural investment in Enfield.
Councillor Chinelo Anyanwu, Cabinet Member for Culture and Inclusion, said, “We’re thrilled about the development of this project and what it will mean for Enfield’s long-term cultural legacy as we pave the way for the borough’s next cultural strategy.
“We recognise the importance of working together, ensuring that the young cultural leaders of the future, along with organisations already within our communities, feel empowered to shape that strategy in ways that will directly benefit local people for years to come.
“As a Council, we’ll keep working on projects that give young people in our borough the tools and opportunities they need to take ownership and reach their full potential.”
Residents will also be able to engage in the public projects created through the Enfield of Dreams programme, strengthening the cultural connection between communities in the borough.
Enfield Council is committed to nurturing its creative network, allowing young people the opportunities to be empowered, sharpen their talents, and gain skills to enhance their future success.
UP Projects
UP Projects is the UK’s leading public art organisation specialising in socially engaged public art commissioning. It brings world class artists out of the gallery and into public spaces to create new work with communities across the UK and beyond. Its work is always responsive to context, often activating unexpected corners of the public realm. https://upprojects.com/
Arts Council England
Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. Our vision, set out in our strategy Let’s Create, is that by 2030, we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish, and where every one of us has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences. Between 2023 and 2026 we will have invested over £467 million of public money from Government, alongside an estimated £250 million each year from The National Lottery, to help ensure that people in every part of the country have access to culture and creativity in the places where they live. Until Autumn 2025, the National Lottery is celebrating its 30th anniversary of supporting good causes in the United Kingdom: since the first draw was held in 1994, it has raised £49 billion and awarded more than 690,000 individual grants. Visit our website to learn more about our work. https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/
Border Crossings
Border Crossings creates new intercultural, multi-media theatre in response to the contemporary globalised world. The company works across the borders between cultures and art forms, and between nations and peoples. Since 1995, Border Crossings has collaborated with artists and companies from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia, France, Germany, Ghana, Hungary, India, Ireland, Lebanon, Mauritius, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Palestine, Sweden, the USA and Zimbabwe, as well as the diverse communities of the UK. Border Crossings productions have toured the UK, Brazil, China, Egypt, France, Hungary, India, Mauritius, Mexico, Palestine, the Seychelles, Sweden and Zimbabwe. https://www.bordercrossings.org.uk/
Chickenshed Theatre
Chickenshed is a theatre for absolutely everyone. For fifty years, they’ve created bold and beautiful work from their limitless belief in each other. Through their productions, their performance training, their education courses, and their outreach projects, their mission is to create wonder out of chaos and change out of challenge. https://www.chickenshed.org.uk/
Face Front Theatre
Face Front has been creating inclusive theatre since 1998. They became an independent company in 2004 and registered charity in 2007. They create accessible theatre for schools and the public, with disabled and non-disabled performers. Their shows and activities transform the lives of disadvantaged people, improving emotional well-being and addressing social injustice. They are based in Edmonton (North London), working across London and touring nationally with their innovative shows. https://www.facefront.org/
Highrise Theatre
HighRise is an award winning multi-arts collective that represents unheard communities and stories of contemporary Inner-City Britain. Champions of using rap music, theatre, subcultures, politics and heritage at the heartbeat of their work; HighRise is at the frontline of youth arts engagement across the UK where their productions, programmes, consultancy and mentoring schemes offer deep engagement in forgotten areas of Britain. Partners have included Nike, The National Theatre, The Barbican, Centre Point and The Metropolitan Police & specialised art conservatoires including East 15 Acting school, Central School of Speech and Drama and Northampton University. The company has been seen and featured across media including BBC, BBC Radio, GQ, The Guardian, New York Times, Reuters, London Live & The Evening Standard. In 2020, HighRise launched NewGens, a unique training programme provides a safe, creative space for young, multi-disciplinary artists aged 16-25, facing access issues into theatre and the arts. NewGens music and theatre alumni can be seen working and studying at BBC, New Diorama Theatre, RADA, Guildhall, Royal Welsh & on Radio, TV & Film. https://highrisetheatre.co.uk/
Platinum Performing Arts
Platinum Performing Arts is an award-winning Performing Arts company, established in 2006, offering a wide range of classes for 3-18 year olds and priding themselves in exceptional standards of teaching and in-house productions. Their aim is to help support young people and provide them with a platform to boost their confidence and pursue their dreams. Their impressive track record of students gaining employment in theatre, film and television makes them a reliable organisation that allows young people to flourish into successful professionals. They also create opportunities for a wider community to engage with their training, through their widening participation and outreach work. Their community is diverse, united by a shared passion for the performing arts. https://www.platinumperformingarts.co.uk/
