Culture Cares Conference
How arts and culture are making a positive impact on the lives of young people in and leaving care
Supported by The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and in partnership with the Family Arts Campaign
Derby Theatre Tuesday 30 October, 10.30am – 5.30pm During Care Leavers’ Week
Arts Council England’s Chief Executive to speak at conference.
On Tuesday 30 October, Derby Theatre will play host to the Culture Cares Conference, an event that will bring cultural and care sectors together for insightful and lively conversations, talks and workshops to explore and highlight a range of innovative approaches that are creating positive outcomes for young people.
As part of the conference, we are delighted to announce that the Chief Executive from Arts Council England, Darren Henley OBE will be one of the speakers. Darren’s two independent government reviews into music and cultural education resulted in England’s first National Plan for Music Education, new networks of Music Education Hubs, Cultural Education Partnerships and Heritage Schools, the Museums and Schools programme, the BFI Film Academy and the National Youth Dance Company.
Darren Henley (Chief Executive, Arts Council England) said: “Experiencing and being inspired by great art and culture can enrich the lives of young people in countless ways, from building skills and work experience, to creating safe spaces to talk and create.
I am delighted to be joining Derby Theatre’s Culture Cares Conference to help highlight the important role the arts play in supporting and creating positive futures for young people, both in and who are leaving, the care system.
It’s a fantastic opportunity for arts practitioners, policy makers and professionals to come together and celebrate the contribution the arts make to the lives of our young people.” Supported by The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and in partnership with the Family Arts Campaign, another keynote speaker for the conference will be British author and broadcaster, Lemn Sissay MBE.
Performances on the day will be provided by Curious Monkey Theatre Company and young people in care. Curious Monkey, an award-winning theatre company and charity based in North East England, will present extracts from Leaving by Paddy Campbell with a curtain raiser performance by young people from Derby’s Plus One project, an initiative to provide free arts experiences for children in care and care leavers in Derby. Produced by Curious Monkey in association with Northern Stage, Leaving is a verbatim play telling the real stories of people who live and work in the care system exploring the pivotal moment when young people leave care to live independently. The Guardian
The Culture Cares Conference is for arts and specialist practitioners and academics, policy makers and professionals involved in supporting young people both in, and leaving, the care system and we would love to welcome people from the following professions, to join us and share their expert knowledge: arts and cultural practitioners, local authority care teams, funders and policy makers, residential children’s homes, staff from virtual schools, social workers and key workers, academics and researchers, charities who support children and young people, foster carers, personal advisers and mentors plus careers advisors.
Conference Partners Derby Theatre welcomes a wide range of people and practitioners to this exciting conference. We are part of the Cultural Campus, the name for Derby’s Cultural Education Partnership (DCEP), delivering ground-breaking work across the culture and care sectors. The DCEP partners are: Derby Theatre, Derby Museums, QUAD, EMCCAN, Baby People, Déda, sinfonia ViVA, Artcore and Rebecca Rathbone from Derby and Derbyshire Music Partnership.
Derbyshire Virtual School runs the Creative Mentoring Programme, a nationally renowned scheme for young people in care and care leavers and has been working in partnership with Derby’s Cultural Education Partnership for the last five years. The joint aim is to ensure that children in care and care leavers can regularly experience the arts as audience members and, through participation in cultural projects, be inspired to pursue their own creative interests and talents. They are delighted to be part of the conference and the ongoing work.
Caroline Barth (Creative Learning Director, Derby Theatre) said: “This is the most brilliant opportunity for the care and culture sectors to come together and discuss the impact of this way of working. It's also a chance for us to think differently about our collective response and responsibility towards young people who have so much to say and give but who may lack the opportunity to do so.”
Book your place The prices for the conference are: for individuals (e.g. independent artists, students, foster carers) £50pp; local authority, cultural organisations or charities £75pp; businesses and universities £150pp. Places can be booked by calling the Box Office on 01332 593939 or online at www.derbytheatre.co.uk.