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Our work with Creative and Cultural Sector

Curious Minds supports the cultural sector to create meaningful opportunities for children and young people, and to build stronger, more equitable connections with education and communities.

We collaborate with arts organisations, cultural institutions and creative practitioners to design and deliver high-quality learning experiences. Our work helps you build the skills, partnerships and strategies needed to grow your impact with young audiences.

We know that diversifying the creative workforce and widening participation in culture are long-term challenges. We are here to support that process with clear thinking, sector insight and practical tools for change.

Whether you are building relationships with schools, developing youth-led work or reviewing your organisational approach to inclusion, we can help you put young people at the centre of your practice.

Relevant programmes

Alternative Saturday Jobs

Paid work experience placements in the arts and cultural sector. Helping young people learn about creative career paths and get a 'foot in the door'.
Young People Programmes Careers & Skills

Curious Works

Curious Works offers creative sector-focused, practical, skills development and work experience opportunities for young people in Wigan and Leigh. Running for a second year in 2025-26.
Young People Programmes Careers & Skills

Curious Citizens

Curious Citizens focuses on opening doors for children who would not normally have access to such experiences nor opportunity to grow their cultural capital outside school.
Education Creative & Cultural School Improvement Creative Wellbeing Programmes

Hope Streets

Hope Streets took groups of young people on an expedition into the past; to delve into the hidden history of their local places and spaces.
Creative & Cultural Organisational Development Creative Wellbeing Programmes

Relevant networks

CultureEd Impact Network

Are you a freelance teaching artist or delivering cultural and creative education in a cultural venue? Want to know more about impact and evaluation? Join us to meet peers, share practice and hear about evaluation, evidence and impact across the sector.
Networks Creative & Cultural Advocacy & Sector Policy Impact & Evaluation

Local Cultural Education Partnerships LCEPs

These partnerships bring together a diverse range of stakeholders, including cultural organisations, educational institutions, local authorities and community groups. Their active collaboration is key to to creating a more cohesive, accessible and relevant local offer for the children and young people.
Networks Education Creative & Cultural

Curious Creatives Network

Do you work within arts, culture or education? Are you looking for an inclusive and inspiring space to grow your creative network?
Networks Creative & Cultural

Upcoming events and courses for the creative and cultural sector

A smiling young woman at an event

Curious Creatives Network

Monthly network meetings for anyone involved in cultural education

For Everyone
26 Jun - 28 Aug
Book now

I'm a Teenager, Get Me Into There!

Ensure teenagers feel welcome in your venue

For cultural sector
20 Nov 09:30 - 16:30
Book now

Recent news and opinion

A second year of Curious Works for Wigan and Leigh

Curious Minds is delighted to have secured funding to run its Curious Works programme in Wigan and Leigh for a second time.
Young People News Careers & Skills

Reimagining child wellbeing: A call to action for the UK

The latest UNICEF Innocenti Report Card offers a stark wake-up call for anyone invested in the future of children in the UK.
Education Advocacy & Sector Policy Creative Wellbeing Opinion

Remembering Jude Bird

The professional legacy of Jude's time at Curious Minds remains woven through much of our current work. She was a dedicated mentor, a trusted advisor, a fierce advocate and her impact will be felt for a long time to come.
News

Social Return on Investment

In this blog we explore an evaluative framework called Social Return on Investment - a clear, credible way to confidently communicate value.
Celebrating Excellence Impact & Evaluation Case Study

Who gets to be creative

Emma Bush reflects on the findings of the CLA's 2025 Report Card, and the growing inequality in arts education
Education Advocacy & Sector Policy Creative Wellbeing Opinion

Rebalancing the Curriculum

A Curious Minds response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review Interim Report – March 2025
Education School Improvement Creative Wellbeing Opinion

Tuning in, giving back

The recent spotlight on Ezra Collective at the BRIT Awards reminds us of something fundamental: early access to arts and culture transforms lives. Thats why we co-created the Chance to See Fund with The Lathums. Can you be part of the change?
Fundraising Creative & Cultural Advocacy & Sector Policy Opinion

Harnessing the power of poetry

As we mark Children's Mental Health Awareness Week, we're pleased to share an update on Rhyme & Reason - a Curious Minds programme designed to support the mental well-being of young people in school.
Education Creative Wellbeing News Programmes

Responding to the Curriculum and Assessment Review

We are pleased to see recognition of the urgent need to reverse the decline in creative and arts learning in schools, particularly the state school sector. We think it important to acknowledge there are no easy fixes for complex challenges.
Education Advocacy & Sector Policy School Improvement Opinion

Cultivating Mental Health and Creative Wellbeing

In this blog for World Mental Health Day 2024, Emma Bush (Director of Education and Leadership, and Wellbeing Lead at Curious Minds) shares some insight into the transformative power of creativity.
Education Creative Wellbeing Opinion

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