City of Dreams: enabling children and young people’s cultural participation and civic voice in Newcastle and Gateshead

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the process involved in developing a co-produced vision for young people’s meaningful engagement in the arts, at a time when access is challenged by funding cuts and changes within education. It does so through a case study of Newcastle Gateshead Cultural Venue’s initiative ‘City of Dreams’ (established 2018), which aims to enable all young people under the age of 25 in the area to take part in cultural and creative activity. It shows how, through a grounded, open process of consultation, reflection and iterative development, ‘City of Dreams’ is exploring the role that young people can play in creating more equitable institutions and access to culture, while necessarily identifying the barriers to participation. It demonstrates the value of understanding the conditions of young people growing up and suggests that through placing them at the heart of activity, their agency is potentially capable of transformative impact.