Create is a UK creative arts charity based in London, which offers creative workshops and arts experiences led by professional artists in community settings, schools, prisons and hospitals. The charity works with seven priority groups: young patients; disabled children and adults; young and adult carers; schoolchildren in areas of deprivation; vulnerable older people; young and adult offenders ; and marginalised children and adults. Patrons include: choreographer/director Sir Matthew Bourne OBE, writer Esther Freud, musician Dame Evelyn Glennie, composer/TV presenter Howard Goodall CBE, Royal Academician Ken Howard OBE, Guardian columnist/ex-offender Erwin James and pianist Nicholas McCarthy.
History
Create was co-founded on 7 July 2003 by current Chief Executive Nicky Goulder with the aim of empowering lives through the creative arts. Prior to this, she was Chief Executive of the Orchestra of St John's. In 2013, Nicky won the Clarins Most Dynamisante Woman of the Year Award, which recognises "the action and commitment of inspirational British women who work tirelessly to help underprivileged or sick children across the globe." In 2015/16, Create ran 989 workshops, delivering 20,249 contact hours to 2,150 disadvantaged and vulnerable children and adults. In 2013, it received a grant of £480,000 from The Queen’s Trust to increase its programme by 280% over the next three years with young carers, young people with disabilities and young offenders. Since 2003, Create has run 6,609 workshops, delivering 228,784 contact hours to over 31,000 people. Projects have been delivered in Berkshire, Birmingham, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Essex, Glasgow, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, London, Manchester, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Suffolk and Surrey.
Selection of Projects
ArtsAdventures is an interactive creative arts programme for young hospital, hospice and respite centre patients and their families. Workshops combine music from around the world with dance, storytelling or visual arts to move a patient’s focus away from their illness, injury or disability.
inspired:arts and art:space use film-making, photography, music, drama, creative writing and visual art to enable young carers to take time away from their caring responsibilities.
creativity:revealed is a cross-arts project for older people, which aims to reduce isolation and keep over 65s active.
creative:release provides creative workshops for adult carers in Newham.
Inside Stories enables prisoners in Holloway, Isis and Rochester prisons in London and Kent to write, record and illustrate their own stories for their children.