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Get a glimpse of how we got where we are today!

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Beatfreeks Arts has been invested in creating, capturing and changing arts and heritage since our humble beginnings in 2013 when some of the first poems at the inaugural Poetry Jam on 7th Feb 2013 shared stories of identity, culture, place and history.
The organisation’s passion and commitment to young people in arts, culture and heritage was born and blossomed into our first dedicated art and heritage project in 2016, ‘At What Cost?’ explored the impact of Georgian landscape gardener Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown’s work on Black, Asian and minoritised communities from the past to modern-day.
Towards the end of ‘At What Cost?’, the passion and drive to platform young people’s voices and skills had grown into an insatiable fire in our bellies, kindled by young people’s desire to change the world. As a result, Beatfreeks Arts invested further into this work and applied for Kick the Dust, a new £10M fund to transform youth engagement in the arts and heritage sector.
Beatfreeks Arts were successful in the application and after 6 months of planning and development, we changed the project’s name to Don’t Settle. The project launched officially in February 2019 in partnership with Birmingham Museums Trust, Birmingham City University, Chance Heritage Trust, and Roundhouse Birmingham.
Towards the end of ‘At What Cost?’, the passion and drive to platform young people’s voices and skills had grown into an insatiable fire in our bellies, kindled by young people’s desire to change the world. As a result, Beatfreeks Arts invested further into this work and applied for Kick the Dust, a new £10M fund to transform youth engagement in the arts and heritage sector.
Beatfreeks Arts were successful in the application and after 6 months of planning and development, we changed the project’s name to Don’t Settle. The project launched officially in February 2019 in partnership with Birmingham Museums Trust, Birmingham City University, Chance Heritage Trust, and Roundhouse Birmingham.

The pandemic brought a new way of working and we needed to adapt. We moved towards a digital landscape. Our young Curators co-designed exhibitions, heritage tours and alternative museum guidebooks, without even seeing the heritage spaces.

The Black Lives Matter movement shaped the future of Don’t Settle and highlighted how important it is to continue our work to change the system. Our Curators responded with exhibitions such as ‘Black Is Beautiful. Black without apology’ at Aston Hall, created space for sharing and healing within Lunar Campfires, a Black heritage audio tour at Roundhouse Birmingham, and held the sector accountable. 

Finally, we could organise in-person events. ‘Black is beautiful. Black without apology’ launched the exhibition with the same title that celebrated Black women at Aston Hall; ‘All this CCTV, but do you even see me?” Lunar Campfire at BOM in partnership with Up: rise and Baff Akoto; ‘Turn on the light’ launched the Birmingham by Night exhibition and the ‘Herstory of Birmingham’ zine at Roundhouse Birmingham.

Through the Youth Accelerator Fund, Don’t Settle expanded further into Black Country, adding Multistory and Wednesbury Museum & Art Gallery as partners. All these, whilst starting our youth governance strands with our partners and young consultants, and working with young people to create a heritage manifesto for young People of Colour and launching the ‘Time and Time Again’ report in collaboration with National Youth Trends. 

Whilst we have watched our community develop and young people start making waves in their respective fields, the time has come for us to change and grow. We build on our expertise and reach new heights as a legacy brand of Beatfreeks and the organisation formerly known as Beatfreeks Arts Ltd becomes We Don’t Settle Ltd: an independent non-profit organisation championing untold stories and unheard voices through arts, culture and heritage.

WE
DON’T
SETTLE
CIC

Reflecting the centrality of the We Don’t Settle community to our vision and mission, We Don’t Settle became a community interest company (CIC) in December 2023.

Our principles of equipping young people to not settle for a society that isn’t functioning for them remains at our heart.

Co-produced with 10 young People of Colour, it details the areas in which the sector needs to step up and make a change.

Find out more
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