A (non-exhaustive) list of organisations and initiatives that we hope will continue to inspire and support creativity and change across the We Don’t Settle community.
Birmingham and the West Midlands
Access and Inclusion Advocates
A monthly group at Birmingham Hippodrome that shares experiences and ideas to help break down barriers for individual and community access to theatre.
B:Music Youth Board
The Youth B:oard is a programme that brings together a collective of young people (aged 16-23) across the West Midlands to connect, develop, and influence on the engagement and impact of B:Music for young people. See also: B:Music Children and Young People Services
Belgrade Ensemble
The Belgrade Ensemble is a free, year-long creative programme for early-career performers aged 18–25 from Coventry and the surrounding region.
Birmingham Young Film Network
The Birmingham Young Film Network supports emerging filmmakers and runs initiatives such as the Female Filmmakers group (ages 16-25), which amplifies authentic stories of young women in the city.
Centrala
Centrala runs CEE Us! Leadership Training, a series of free workshops designed to support and inspire Central and Eastern European migrant cultural leaders.
Creative Alliance
Creative Alliance is a Birmingham-based social enterprise that provides apprenticeships, mentoring, and bootcamps for young creatives aged roughly 19-30. Programmes such as Headspace offer cross-sector mentorship and career-building support.
Culture Central
Culture Central is a collective voice for culture in the West Midlands. It connects, convenes, and challenges the sector, creating opportunities through culture. Programmes include Collective (leadership development) and Grow (mentoring for early-career creatives).
Eastside Projects
Eastside Projects offers the Artist Curator Traineeship (2025–27), supporting early-career creatives with training in curatorial practice within a contemporary art context.
Hippodrome Young Community
Designed for anyone aged 14+, these sessions provide creative outlets for young people and offer welcoming spaces to relax, connect with others, and feel part of a community.
Hippodrome Young Advocates
A group of 14–22-year-olds from the West Midlands who support and influence the Hippodrome’s work with and for young people.
Hippodrome Creatives
A free creative community offering benefits such as free last-minute rehearsal space, access to the Artists’ Lounge, regular socials, support sessions, workshops, and ticket offers for main stage and Patrick Studio shows.
Kwanzaa Collective UK
a Black artist-led charitable company connecting, supporting and championing Black, Brown and Global Majority creatives in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire and the surrounding areas. Using creativity, we raise the visibility and profile of artists, empower young people and inspire Black and Brown people to prioritise their wellbeing.
Legacy West Midlands
Legacy West Midlands is a Birmingham-based charity founded in 2010 to celebrate local heritage and diverse communities. It delivers sports, arts, heritage, and youth programmes that support marginalised and underrepresented groups.
Powered by CAN
Based in West Bromwich, Powered by CAN is a creative, cultural community organisation working directly with children and young people. It delivers training, workshops, masterclasses, and performance opportunities in everyday public spaces-making creative engagement accessible on the streets, in libraries, schools, and parks.
Quench Arts
Quench Arts delivers community-based music projects for young people up to age 25, particularly those who are disadvantaged or neurodiverse. Both programmes offer mentoring, training and young-leader opportunities:
- Wavelength: songwriting and group performance in mental health settings.
- OverDub Club (launching August 2025): free music-technology workshops for neurodivergent 11-13-year-olds.
Soul City Arts
Soul City Arts has a passion for using the arts to bring together people divided by culture, faith and ethnicity.
National
Arts Emergency
Arts Emergency is a mentoring charity and support network working long-term with under-resourced young people aged 16–26 in London, Greater Manchester, and Merseyside.
Blagrave Trust
Blagrave Trust invests in young people as powerful forces for change in their own right, including by funding them directly.
Black Cultural Archives
BCA collects, preserves, and celebrates the histories of people of African and Caribbean descent in the UK and to inspire and give strength to individuals, communities, and society.
Creative Access
Creative Access specialise in finding incredible opportunities for people from communities that are historically under-represented in the creative economy
Creative Lives in Progress
Creative Lives in Progress is a creative careers resource, on a mission to transform the way emerging talent access, understand and connect with the industry.
Creative Mentor Network
The Creative Mentor Network champion socioeconomic diversity, equity and inclusion in the UK creative industries. They work to shape inclusive leaders, elevate emerging talent, and foster systemic change in the UK creative industries so that they reflect the diversity of our society.
King’s Trust – Get Started
The King’s Trust runs Get Started courses that help young people aged 16-30 build confidence, skills, and experience. Courses cover a wide range of areas, including:
- Sport: football, boxing, outdoor activities, fitness.
- Arts: fashion, beauty, art, film, photography, dance, drama, music, and media.
- Community skills: animal care, cooking, conservation, and emergency response.
National Youth Arts Trust
The National Youth Arts Trust widens access to the performing arts for young people aged 12–25 from non-privileged backgrounds. It provides bursaries, mentoring, and training in drama, dance, and music.
Roundhouse Creative Futures
The Roundhouse’s Creative Futures programme offers high-quality creative careers education for young people aged 11-25, bridging the gap between training and industry.
Talawa Theatre Company
Black British theatre company that champions works by and about Black British communities, and nurtures writing and directing talent from the African and Caribbean diaspora.
Tate Collective
Tate Collective offers 16-25-year-olds access to £5 exhibition tickets, free events and opportunities, plus discounts across Tate galleries.
V&A Youth Collective
The V&A Youth Collective is a group of young people aged 18-24 who help shape events and content at the V&A, while gaining insight into creative careers, the museum sector, and skills development.
