Thanks to funding from Without Walls Outdoor Arts Consortium and guided by the team at Cheshire Dance, between October 2021 and April 2022 some 6 Young Producers aged 13-17 years helped to produce Now Northwich Festival 2022.

The dedicated young people attended monthly sessions to learn project management, producing, communication and leadership skills.  The young people were responsible for contacting and programming artists, workshops and helping with the running of the festival.  The cohort also programmed a Youth Bands Stage and created a call out for local young people to showcase their talent.

For 2022/2023 Cheshire Dance expanded this opportunity to more young people. Cheshire Dance has since been striving to ensure that every next Now Northwich festival has ‘youth voice’ at its centre – from the initial planning stages with Cheshire West and Chester Council and the Steering Group, to the delivery of each event.

In addition, for 2023 the programme offered young people from Winsford and Northwich the opportunity to gain vital experience and to have ownership of an event with their OWN voice at its heart – Northwich Rising.

Building upon its growing success, the programme is now looking to keep expanding and keep providing opportunities for young people to see what happens behind the scenes at an outdoor festival, contribute to the planning and delivery of Now Northwich festivals, gain valuable work experience and see what it’s like to work in the arts sector.

Objectives of the Programme: 

• Place the voices of the young people at the centre of the Now Northwich festival, giving them the ability to make decisions on the artists programmed and how the festival will run.
• Increase the cultural capital of young people and the wider community, in an area that has limited access to the arts.
• Develop lifelong skills in the young people, including communication, organisational and leadership skills.
• Build confidence in young people in their approach to the arts and producing, through collaboration with professional artists.

Benefits to participants                  

• Personal and professional skill development: Developing project/event management and leadership skills for young people by producing their own arts projects, events and festivals.
• Develop individual voices: Opportunities for young people to express their unique voice and perspective and have a positive impact on their local community.
• Have a youth voice at the heart of Cheshire Dance programming.
• Increase confidence and self-esteem: The young people and facilitators will build social capital, working together effectively and supporting one another through the process.
• Career Readiness: The skills developed will enhance applications for whatever progression route the young people choose within education and/or work, with opportunities to talk to arts professionals for advice and guidance about future careers.
• Provide life-changing opportunities that will heighten aspirations for the future amongst young people.

For latest Call Outs to Young People for the programme, click here.

“Young producers has helped me gain knowledge about being in industry of dance and all of the other things you can do behind the scenes, not just being a performer. I have enjoyed being able to help and be involved in the festival because I got to see how the performers I programmed into the festivals pieces were like. It also gave me an insight about how I could maybe be involved with these events in the future. Young producers has helped me understand lots of different careers in the arts and broadened my eyes to what I could do in the next few years. I would tell my friends that young producers is an opportunity you can’t miss if you are interested in a career in the arts. It’s also a good opportunity to make friends and connections.”

Young Producers (Now Northwich Festival)