“It’s a bit lifechanging really...”

The Forge is an arts organisationthat is courageous, contemporaryand collaborative, deliveringquality and high impactparticipatory arts programmes for and with children, youngpeople, families and communities.

We work across art forms andsectors with creative professionalsand other partners with the aim of changing the lives of the children and young peoplewe reach.

What do we do?The Forge pushes boundaries regionally, nationally andinternationally. We have developed a strong track record ofdeveloping imaginative and creative processes to stimulateknowledge and enjoyment for people and organisationsto understand, access and apply their creativity.

In our creative programmes we:

• form collaborative and sustainable partnerships

• build relationships with organisations and individuals

• remove barriers to participation

• achieve diversity throughout our work

• provide opportunities for young people’s voice

• project manage, curate, commission and facilitate

• offer training provision for professionals across sectors

• nurture and develop artists

“The arts enable,empower, liberateand heal...andthat’s what TheForge is about.”Margaret Ferrie, Chief Inspector, Sunderland City Council

Why does this matter? The Forge brings about realchange to children and youngpeople’s lives by igniting acreative explosion in every settingwe work in, enabling individualjourneys to be explored.

How do we make it happen? We offer various programmes and projects, from short termresidencies to long term interventions. Our approach offersparticipants skills and opportunities through a creative anddevelopmental process of:

• Preparation; by building the team and mutual trust

• Organisation; by refining thinking and agreeing targets

• Origination; through creative response

• Sharing; by celebrating

• Reflection and renewal; by reviewing experiences andmaking plans for future

Evaluation is central to our work to ensure improvement in the future.

During our projects, young people will:

• achieve personal goals

• develop empathy towards others

• improve their creativity, critical thinking andcommunication skills

• analyse situations and explore solutions

• develop greater self-expression, self esteem and confidence

• work collaboratively to enhance teamwork and leadership skills

• gain the ability to value their own opinion and personal contribution

We really value making long term partnerships withindividuals and organisationsacross a wide range of sectors.We have strength in workingwith schools, youth services,voluntary, community andheritage settings.

The Forge is able to effectivelyand efficiently respond tovarious commissioning andprocurement frameworks.

Making ConnectionsA major feature of our work is working alongside localauthorities to meet theirpriorities and respond to theneeds of individual schools.

“We created a poem... it was extraordinary. We even made a finished product, I didn’t think we would and when we closed our eyes and heard our poem, it felt real!”Pupil, Shotton Hall Junior School

Sector: Children’s Services and Cultural Services

Case study: Connections membership

Young people: Children in schools and nurseries, aged 0 – 16 years old

Partners: Sunderland City Council, Durham County Council,Artists and Schools

Art forms: All

At its heart, our creative membership scheme is simple, flexibleand sustainable. For many schools and partners, joiningConnections will be the starting point of their journey to discovera new creative way of working and learning. Our reoccurringscheme is one which our members can access as and whenthey need to. Whether they want to dip a toe in or jump in withboth feet, we make sure that we are accessible, responsiveand supportive at every level of their development process.

“Connections offers schools the opportunityto work with high quality artists who have been specially selected. We woulddefinitely recommend Connections – theprocess of registering is easy and it wasgreat when we applied for Artsmark.”Teacher, Langley Park Primary School

What is typically on offer?• subsidised membership of a large scale creative scheme

• strategic development of the arts across the curriculum

• planning and delivery of an artist in residence

• support and guidance for specific initiatives

• access to a competitive grant scheme to commission and develop creative projects

• an increased profile in delivering good practice arts and creativity projects

• subscription to termly e-newsletters

• access to resources

• events and professional development opportunities

• access to a directory of high quality artists

• certificate of membership

• contribution to the Every Child Matters (ECM) outcomes

In a typical year:• Approx. 80 schools join the scheme

• At least 50% of schoolsreceive support to assistthem with specificinitiatives e.g. Artsmark

• 15 artists will deliver 140workshop days in school• Over 5,000 childrenparticipate per year

of Connections schools tell us that their membership delivers against the following ECM outcomes: ‘enjoying and achieving’, ‘being healthy’, ‘staying safe’ and ‘making a positive contribution’.80%

Identity and Aspirations Fostering partnerships with arange of youth service providersenables us to achieve sharedtargets. We work with a rangeof youth settings, both centrebased and detached youngpeople, ensuring thatprofessional developmentopportunities are available for those working with them.

Sector: Youth Services and Cultural Services

Case study: ID09 & DreamTV

Young people: Children and young people in youth settings, aged 12 – 17 years old

Partners: Durham County Council,(Cultural Services and PositiveActivities for Young People), Arpeggio Films, sessional artists and Derwentside youth groups

Art forms: Dance, Drama, Film,Photography, Visual Arts (graffiti) and Animation

By focusing on interesting and relevant arts activities for young people, our work is developed and createdspecifically to their needs and aspirations, and we make sure it can be shared with the wider community leading to extended dialogue, engagement and inclusion.

“Every young person in this project has developed in their own way, it hasbeen an exceptional experience forthem… seeing them direct and leadtheir films has really promoted theirconfidence and self esteem, theyhave had to be really committed andwork hard to achieve these results!!!”Youth Worker, Durham County Council

ID09 & DreamTVThe Forge was commissioned to deliver a strategic creativeprogramme in partnership with Durham Youth Service with the view to increasing the skills, self esteem and confidence of young people and their youth workers.

We investigated and developed replicable creative models foryouth settings by establishing measurable objectives and clearframeworks. Through this process we fostered strong partnershipswith youth workers in Derwentside.

ID09 and DreamTV aimed to explore the theme of identity andaspiration. By using young people’s feedback ID09 developedinto a range of taster workshops, this was followed by DreamTV,a longer term project facilitated by Arpeggio Films.

“DreamTV enabled young people to explore whatidentity and aspiration actually meant, it coveredsuch a broad range of topics from friendship toappearance; personalities to careers. The partnershipand dedication between us, The Forge, youthworkers and their young people was paramount to the project’s success, ensuring the resulting DVD spoke effectively to its intended audience.”Will Sadler, Arpeggio Films

Our approach and creative methodology ensured ownershipand a youth-led developed project. Young people wereprovided with the environment, support, guidance and tools to proceed in a creative and fulfilling way. They choseto produce a film, by creatively investigating issues withinidentity and aspiration. This interactive DVD can be used by youth workers to explore similar issues creatively.

All young people worked towards gaining an accreditation in the Bronze Arts Award during this process.

Going NationalWe have built up a reputation for delivering programmes that have an artistic and socialimpact on those who experiencethem - whether it’s children,young people, educators orcommunities. This has beeninstrumental for The Forge beingcommissioned to deliver anumber of government initiativesand engaging outside the regionin debate about work at anational and international level.

Arts AwardThe Forge prides itself in nurturingambitious youngpeople and that is why we supportthe developmentand growth of Arts Award in the region. We are playing animportant role inthis as a trainingprovider and a recognised Arts AwardWelcome Centre. Arts Award is a nationallyrecognised qualification for 11–25’s accredited by TrinityGuildhall and run in partnership with Arts Council England.

“Very informative, with a good clear presentation...helpful practical exercises with a supportive attitude.”Training participant about The Forge trainer

We implement Arts Award into our creativeprogrammes and prepare key professionals towork with children and young people by guidingtheir Arts Award journey effectively. It recogniseshow young people develop as artists and artsleaders through assessment of their Arts Awardportfolio demonstrating their progress throughoutan arts project.

Youth Dance EnglandThis exciting dance initiative champions and promotes dance for children and young people. The Forge leads this work in both Sunderland and Durham, working with local providers andstrategic partners in each area to develop provision.

Our role is to identify dance opportunities and increaseparticipation for young people who have an interest in dance.

County Durham was chosen asone of only three areas in thecountry to take part in an excitingthree year initiative calledCultural Hubs. The ethos behindthis was for all young people tohave the right to access a fulland cultural life where they areconsumers and creators of thisculture. A legacy of this was the Metamorphosis programme.

As the organisation selected tomanage, develop and deliverCultural Hubs within the region, The Forge engaged with schools,cultural organisations and artists tobring the project partnerships to life.

“I certainly couldn’t haveachieved what I have withoutThe Forge’s guidance...andthey have guided me everystep of the way.” Jacqui Holloway, Teacher, St John’s Catholic School and Sixth Form Centre

Cultural Hubs & Metamorphosis Sectors: Formal Education/Heritage/Libraries, Leisure & Culture

Case study: Cassop Primary School(Cultural Hubs & Metamorphosis)

Young people: Children in school aged 5 – 11 years old

Partners: Jane Arnfield, Dance City, Tin Arts,The Sage Gateshead, Royal GeographicalSociety, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art,The Literary & Philosophical Society, DurhamRecord Office, Seven Stories, the Centre forChildren’s Books

Art forms: Theatre, Dance, Film, Visual Arts,Storytelling, Music, Creative Writing & Poetry

A unique journey…Over three years Cassop Primary Schoolexplored many art forms and concepts linkingto its curriculum by forming partnerships with a range of cultural institutions. Their life-changing journey began when a troupeof South African dancers visited to explorethe concept of freedom through dance.

Forming a long-lasting partnership with artist Jane Arnfield was crucial to their development,enabling the school to embrace a broadcultural offer. This led to exciting projects,such as ‘From Freezer to Fridge to Home...’ an ambitious theatrical lecture focusing on the environment, which the childrenconfidently delivered to an invited audienceat the Royal Geographical Society in London.

“Everything that we’ve done inthe school has been absolutelyamazing... It’s an experience I’ll never forget.” Young Person, Cassop Primary School

They also recorded a soundscape at TheSage Gateshead, inspired from a twinnedschool in China and furthered culturalpartnerships including ‘Around the World’ withDance City and the ‘Poetry Roadshow’ withSeven Stories, the Centre for Children’s Books.

Finally during Metamorphosis ‘Cassop and Coal’brought the history of their village to life throughstorytelling, live music and dance, leadingto a performance piece of promenadetheatre involving Cassop children, ex-minersand other members of the local community.

Cultural Hubs adult and widercommunityparticipants.1,043 45 creative projects

1,803 creative sessions 6,281 creative opportunities

opportunities for children andyoung people to access abroad cultural offer in Durham15,430

Metamorphosis

children and youngpeople participated ina total of 8 projects

1,300+

Sector: Global arts and education practice

Case study: Thumbsup!

Young people: All ages and all settings

Partners: Ensemble Creative Vietnam, The Swallows ProjectSouth Africa, Hua Dan China

“My relationship with The Forge is veryimportant. It has opened many doors tonew international partnerships and hashelped me start new conversations aboutthe value and meaning of arts participationhere in Asia and back in the UK.”Paul Zetter, Ensemble Creative, Vietnam

Thumbsup! Creating links between the UK and South East Asia, the Thumbsup! project focuses on children, participation,exchange and creativity. Working with artist Paul Zetter, who isbased in Vietnam and runs our partner organisation EnsembleCreative, we are developing a web based project with theaim of connecting young people from around the world.

The Forge and Ensemble Creative is a collaboration of twoorganisations with cutting edge experience and skills inrunning creative participatory child centred projects in the UK and internationally. Our aim is to build on our establishedlinks to make this a unique, international initiative that enableschildren to share their lives online with each other. This willgrow into a valuable world resource on children’s views.

of children and young people rated the DVD "Good","Very Good" or "Excellent"85%of children and young people

said they would like to use MyCity as part of lessons in school80%young

peopleparticipated1,445

Working internationallyWe are increasingly becomingglobal citizens and the arts is a fantastic way to find acommon language.

Creating and developing longterm strategic partnershipswith organisations and artistsin other parts of the world toexplore cultures, shareexperiences and, learn fromeach other’s practice is agrowing part of our programme.

Our international work is a two way process of sharing skills anddeveloping expertise. We can learnmuch from international models ofworking and their possible applicationsin a UK context. We have establishedrelationships with a number of partnersincluding the Swallows Partnershipin South Africa, Ensemble Creativein Vietnam and Hua Dan in China.

Closer communitiesOur strength in partnershipworking enables us to developcreative projects with a range of organisations, all working atdifferent levels of experiencethrough the arts.

The Forge is able to respondinnovatively and effectively toother sector priorities rangingfrom health to regenerationand sports to heritage.

My CityHow do you go about reducing litter and graffiti; andencourage children and young people to consider the impact of their actions on the world they live in?

Working in partnership with Sunderland City Council andfunded by the Safer and Stronger Communities Fund, TheForge was commissioned to develop a creative project withchildren and young people investigating the impact we haveas citizens on the community and environment we live in.

By bringing together children and young people with artiststhey produced scripts, short films, and a photographyexhibition. They used drama, visual art and creative writing to produce an interactive DVD, entitled My City.

Every school in Sunderland now owns a copy and it is widelyenjoyed by young people and teachers in the classroom. Its creation clearly demonstrates how Local Area Agreementoutcomes can be achieved through a partnership approachand how we can support Local Authorities and otherorganisations with a remit for strengthening communities.

Sector: Communities andRegeneration

Case study: My City

Young people: Children incommunities aged 7 – 16 years old

Partners: Sunderland City Council,Arpeggio Films, Gentoo Sunderland,City of Sunderland schools

Art form: Film

Workwith us

Contact us to find out about our work.

The Forge, Stanley Education Centre, King Edward VIII Terrace, Shield Row, Stanley, DH9 0HQ

01207 284 515 / enquiries@intheforge.com / www.intheforge.com

The Forge was established in 2000 and has strong relationships with local authority partners, workingstrategically regionally and nationally.

A Limited Company in England and Wales no. 4027621 Registered Charity no. 1086471

Design: Solution Group

Photography: George Bosnyak, Rachel Clarke, Cheryl Gallagher, Tony Griffiths, Fiona Melvin, Holly Eve Watson, Paul Zetter and project participants.

Copy: Jeannie Adams, Cheryl Gallagher and The Forge