Attenborough Arts Centre’s Next Gen. Creatives aims to inspire young people, encourage them to help shape the arts centre’s programme and empower them to become the next generation of artists, curators, performers and creative professionals. The name, chosen by the participants, is inspired by the slogan: “we are the next generation dreamers”.
The group has been meeting monthly since March 2017. By joining the Next Gen. Creatives young people in Leicester have the opportunity to network with professional artists and practitioners, gain valuable life skills and learn about the various pathways they could take within the arts. So far they have delivered their own workshops, curated their own exhibitions met internationally renowned artists and taken part in artist led workshops.
To join us you must be aged 16-25 get in touch to find out more: nextgen@leicester.ac.uk
What we think about being a Next Gen. Creative
“Being involved with The Attenborough Arts Centre has helped me to gain skills and experience on top of what I learn through college and my part time job, but more importantly, I have been able to stay in touch with my creative side and connected to the art world no matter which career or life path I choose.”- Ella
"This has definitely shaped how my future is going to be. It has influenced me to be a better social person as I contribute to decisions.” - Adam
"Being part of the Next Gen. Creatives group is an amazing experience. At school, art is centred around passing exams; we’re constantly pushed to fill these criteria, do enough to tick these boxes, or think about what the examiner wants to see. As such, art can feel very restrictive. But, Next Gen. Creatives gives us the opportunity to experience art in a different way, through participating in and hosting workshops, creating our own art, speaking to professional artists and curators, and even organising our own exhibitions. Our last exhibition, ‘Seeing Ourselevs’, was a huge success. For me, being able to create art for the exhibition which I knew would be seen, by people I didn’t even know, was wonderful. It was also great to be involved in the process of organising an exhibition, and I enjoyed thinking about how everyone’s incredible artwork could be pulled together into one, cohesive exhibition. As well as this being lots of fun, it also provides us with valuable experience which will help us to take our art further, as many of us (including me) plan to study art at degree level. Even aside from all the art-based opportunities, being part of Next Gen. Creatives offers us the chance to meet a huge range of different people who we might not otherwise have come across. I am so glad I decided to join such an amazing group! " - Meg