In 2020 we launched our first ever Youth Collective to ensure that young people’s voices are amplified through our work. We provide the collective with training and support so that they can develop their own advocacy, activism and community work. The collective is made up of a small group of our young people who meet regularly to devise projects, and represent the young people in our network. The project is currently running in London, and we plan to launch further groups in other Arts Emergency hubs as we grow across the UK.
One of the Youth Collective's first projects is Crash Culture a podcast dissecting the human implications of the facts, figures and findings of Culture is Bad for You. Released in 2020 by Dave O'Brien, Mark Taylor, and Orian Brook, the book reveals the intersections between race, class, and gender in the mechanisms of exclusion in cultural occupations. In their podcast, the Youth Collective explore how this research translates to lived experiences and situations.
In the first episode, Ayah and Sunnie ponder the correlation between class and employability in the writing industry with guest Kit de Waal, an award winning writer and activist. Tune in for some illuminating chat as well as advice on resilience, self sacrifice, and literary agents.
Next up they'll be talking with researcher and activist Rianna Walcott about heritage and gender. Future episodes explore the intersections between social justice issues and the cultural industries: from theatre and racial justice to visual art and the climate crisis, games and mental health to screen and queer culture.
Along with deep dives and personal reflections each episode is also packed with useful tips and insights about how to break into creative work and how to navigate the troubled waters of working in cultural spaces that remain 'bad for you'.
You can listen to the introductory Crash Culture teaser on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Youtube now and subscribe to get the first full episode as soon as it drops. New episodes will be released fortnightly. Don't forget to rate and review so that more people find the show!