Vision

Creative Junction is a community interest company based in the South East working with and for young people and the creative and cultural sector to make change happen.

This change comes through embracing a collaborative approach and from building partnerships to develop creativity and to connect powerful, innovative learning across sectors.

Our vision keeps young people at the centre to ensure they are being inspired, enjoy learning and are able to manage their own transformation. We know that learning actively through art and cultural experiences develops their knowledge, skills and attitudes. We want to see young people as independent thinkers and confident communicators, to realise their potential, and to be better able to take part in the future workforce. We encourage their participation as active and global citizens.

We intend to influence the understanding of the value of artistic approaches to learning and to promote integration and collaboration between agendas for young people. We advocate widely to demonstrate how arts practice and creative learning cuts across and links agendas (including workforce development, regeneration, learning, social cohesion, culture, wellbeing and enterprise). We want our shared practice to influence local, regional and national policy-makers.

Our vision includes ambitions for our organisation. As a learning organisation, we work consciously to model change in our own setting and support staff in adopting and enabling change. We strive to be an organisation that is respected in its set-up, operation, principles and practice: an organisation that is innovative in the way in which it conducts itself; an organisation that encourages its team to learn, grow and shine; an organisation that takes on challenge and sustains itself as a modern social enterprise through pioneering and concerted approaches.

In reaching our vision we use the knowledge and expertise gained from initiating and delivering an extensive and varied portfolio of programmes and partnerships, including the most significant national creative learning initiatives of the current decade, and building on the solid foundations of many years’ leadership expertise and experience in learning and creative practice.

Who do we work with to make change happen?

We work with and for young people to enable their own transformation

Through a range of arts and creative opportunities and collaborative approaches we are working with and for young people, including those most disadvantaged. We do this in order to encourage independent, inquisitive and innovative thinking; to enable risk taking and to empower through challenging a poverty of aspiration.

We look for ways to support young leaders, acknowledging young people as participants and makers in a growing creative economy who can and do author their own arts and cultural experiences.

We work with and for families and communities to open up choices and chances

We recognise that family and community influence and impact on the life choices young people are given and make. We enable wider access to arts and cultural opportunities; enriching communities by strengthening families, increasing community cohesion and offering potential for social and economic regeneration. We work in partnership with local authorities and community groups to ensure resources and opportunities are maximised. We are supporting families to overcome real or perceived barriers to accessing arts and cultural opportunities in order that all young people and those that care for them are able to have high quality shared experiences.

We are working with schools and other settings to innovate, connect and explore

We support innovation and change in learning settings. We offer professional learning and collaborations between artists, arts organisations and the children and young people’s workforce delivering real outcomes. We wish to see young people being inspired and enjoying learning, with access to a wide range of arts opportunities and people.

We are working with the arts and cultural sector to provide great inspiration

We work with artists and arts organisations to offer different perspectives to life and make change happen locally, nationally and internationally. We support them to bring a unique approach to engaging young people, and those who live and work with them, in accessible, informal, enjoyable learning experiences. We support arts and cultural organisations to work in cross sector partnerships, developing their practice and programmes and to be influenced by and relevant to young people. Artistic practice offers a chance to question, imagine what could be, give new insights, make connections and reflect and review. These qualities applied by inspirational role models from across the sector achieve positive, real world outcomes for young people.

Creative Junction …

initiates, incubates and innovates

… by initiating new partnerships across sectors; sharing expertise in imagining, brokering and delivering partnerships for creativity. We deliver arts rich and creative learning programmes for young people in schools and other settings.

… by supporting those who wish to research and develop new strands of work in this field. We grow resources to support people to research, shape ideas and source funding to lead new work.

… by supporting practitioner research and ensuring innovative practice informs thinking. We identify new practice and facilitate enquiry-based approaches to learning.

develops expertise

… by working with other learning providers to ensure an integrated offer for artists and children and young people’s workforce. We support and deliver of a range of professional learning opportunities, often collaborating with other organisations.

… by delivering tailored professional support for arts leaders, learning leaders and their teams. We offer a coaching, mentoring and action learning service for individuals and groups in arts organisations, schools, local authorities and other organisations.

… by delivering professional learning programmes to support those engaging in partnerships. We design and deliver flexible arts and creative based learning programmes.

champions and advocates

… by capturing and disseminating exciting arts and learning practice in order to influence policy. We monitor, evaluate and provide evidence from our own programmes and other good practice.

… by supporting the voice of young people in schools and other places. We work practically with young people to recruit artists; to research; to promote and lead dialogue.

… by making connections between regional and national frameworks and agendas. We work with others to support change.

… by delivering media and publication campaigns. We capture case studies and stories from programmes to create content for publications through the media, websites, publications and film.

generates conversations and collaborations

… by creating opportunities for dialogue with and about young people, art and learning. We design and organise conferences, seminars and conversation events.

… by acting as a creative thinking sounding board for those who work with young people. We listen to ideas, offer advice and feedback and engage in creative conversations with schools and other organisations to support innovation and change.

… by making introductions between formal and informal learning providers and those in the arts and cultural sector.

… by seeking a shared language about arts practice and creative learning for those working in different sectors. We discuss, consider, seek to understand, explain and share conversations.

For more information. download the full About Creative Junction document