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Hitting the ground running in 2024!

Read on for more about our ongoing projects and key updates from the working group.

1/30/2024
Written by
Bo Warner

Happy 2024! We’re kicking off January with a bunch of exciting projects in the works, structural changes to the foundations of MADE, and a brand new project manager.

Maya, Project Manager for MADE.

Meet Maya!

Maya is a workshop facilitator and artist, now also project manager of MADE. She recently led the project Deep Flow, which was part of The Welcome at Factory International. She has worked with people of all ages, delivering a range of arts-based projects and courses including Audio/Radio, Creative Writing, Performing Arts and Visual Arts & Design.  

As a practicing artist, Maya focuses on illustration, collage and printmaking. She has a particular interest in print design and has enjoyed delivering a range of digital and physical zine-making workshops for young people.

She has an ambitious attitude to developing inclusive and accessible opportunities that connect young people, families and communities to creativity, culture and the arts.  

MADE’s trustee board have been hard at work on an updated strategy for 2024. All MADE activity will fall under one or more of the four core pillars which have been streamlined to reflect our current activity:  

  • A Manchester Creative Curriculum
  • Health & Wellbeing
  • Employability
  • Youth Voice  

Keep an eye out as we work together to find new ways to involve our network in activity and expand our reach.

Upcoming Projects

Young Leaders and Participation

We will soon be piloting the Leadership and Participation projects under the core pillars of Youth Voice and Employability.  

Young Leaders: We have invited 12 year 10 students to join us across multiple cultural venues in Manchester to grow their skills as leaders. They will workshop their own development of leadership skills, meet cultural leaders to discuss their journeys, and get an inside knowledge of how a cultural venue operates.  

Participation: We will be encouraging as many students as possible across Manchester to participate in free creative workshops, so that we can widen the variety of youth voices involved, encourage their creativity, and find more Creative Influencers to join our cohort.  

Gatsby Benchmarks with People’s History Museum

Last year, we partnered Webster Primary school and the People’s History Museum to explore and investigate how creative arts workshops can support Gatsby Benchmark goals at the KS2 level, whilst still providing fun and enrichening creative learning experiences for pupils. We are now moving into phase two and can’t wait to continue to see their impact!

Health & Wellbeing

Our Health & Wellbeing pilots have been met with enthusiasm and success, and we can’t wait to continue working with Manchester schools to meet our aims of:

•   creating models of best practice in well-being

•   testing innovative approaches

•   contributing to the goal of becoming a trauma-informed city

•   developing a strong network of creative practitioners and cultural organisations in Manchester through MADE.

You can read more about the success of these projects HERE.

It’s a new, exciting year for MADE! Make sure you’re SIGNED UP TO OUR MAILING LIST so that you won’t miss what we have in store.

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