Projects and Organisations
The links below offer a selected list of contemporary projects and organisations that are currently active and identify their work as community arts.
20 Stories High
20 Stories High is a Liverpool-based theatre company working with young people, placing social activism at its core. Founded by artists including one with experience at Stratford East, the company creates bold, inclusive theatre with culturally diverse, working-class communities, emerging artists, and professionals. Performing in varied spaces, they champion storytelling as a tool for joy, empowerment, and social change. Committed to anti-racism, diversity, and inclusion, their POWER UP initiative promotes activism within the arts, while their self-care toolkit supports those facing racism and Islamophobia.
198 Gallery
198 Contemporary Arts and Learning, founded in 1988 in Brixton, is a gallery and social hub dedicated to community engagement and promoting Black and diverse visual arts. Emerging from the Black Arts Movement, it provides a platform for under-represented artists while addressing contemporary social issues through exhibitions, education, and debate. Rooted in Brixton’s radical history, 198 champions diversity, artistic excellence, and collaboration, supporting emerging artists of colour and fostering partnerships to drive social change and cultural innovation.
All Change
All Change, based in north London since 1985, brings artists and communities together to create original, cross-artform projects that foster connection, understanding, and social change. For nearly 40 years, they have worked with people of all ages and backgrounds, particularly those with limited access to the arts. Committed to co-creation and collaboration, All Change believes in creativity as a vital life skill and has seen its transformative impact on individuals and communities.
Amber Film and Photography Collective (Side Gallery)
Amber Film & Photography Collective, founded in 1968, is a Newcastle-based collective dedicated to documenting working-class life in North East England. Blending documentary and fiction, Amber has produced acclaimed works like Seacoal and T. Dan Smith. Known for long-term community engagement, they operate from Side Gallery and Cinema. Despite limited national recognition, Amber is celebrated for its longevity and commitment to socially conscious filmmaking, supported by arts funding and partnerships. Their work continues to challenge mainstream narratives, focusing on cultural, political, and economic change.
bURNING THE cLOCKS
Burning the Clocks is a winter solstice celebration in Brighton that brings together thousands in a luminous lantern parade through the city. Created by Same Sky in 1994, the event culminates in a beachside bonfire and fireworks display. With a new theme each year, it is a modern, secular tradition based on rejecting the commercialisation of the Holidays and invites the community to mark the year’s end with light, symbolism, and collective reflection on time
CAN – Community Arts North WEST
Community Arts North West (CAN) is a long-established Manchester-based arts organisation, recognised as a National Portfolio Organisation by Arts Council England. Since 1978, CAN has pioneered community and intercultural arts, focusing on working with marginalised communities, particularly around themes of migration. Committed to social justice, co-creation, and diversity, CAN delivers high-quality creative projects that amplify unheard voices, nurture emerging talent, and foster cultural expression as a catalyst for change across Greater Manchester.
Community Arts Network
CAN is a global platform dedicated to enabling, engaging, and empowering individuals, organizations, and communities through the arts. It supports art as a catalyst for social change, challenging the notion of art as mere decoration. By fostering unlikely alliances and promoting access to the arts as a fundamental right, CAN uses creativity to inspire, shift narratives, and contribute to healing and transformation across societies.
Collective Encounters
Collective Encounters is a Liverpool-based arts charity specialising in theatre for social change. Through a participatory theatre programme, they invite widespread community involvement across the Liverpool City Region. They offer learning events and resources for artists, academics, and activists, supporting all career stages. Using creative participatory research, they collaborate with local authorities, NGOs, and public agencies to foster critical inquiry and community development. Committed to inclusivity and connection, Collective Encounters empowers communities through transformative theatre practices.
Community Arts Box
Community Arts Box engages marginalised individuals and communities in London through the arts, aiming to foster social inclusion, accessibility, and positive social impact. By providing essential infrastructure, they empower underrepresented groups as equal stakeholders in society. Working across visual arts, music, literature, theatre, and film, they promote creativity, confidence, and wellbeing. Their activities include art therepy, cultural excursions, exhibitions, performances, and concerts, creating innovative opportunities for communities to engage with the arts and contribute to their diaspora. CAB also welcomes collaborations with other oganizations.
community arts by zk
Community Art by ZK envisions a creative, inclusive society where individuals can express themselves freely and where art and culture are integral to daily life. Their mission is to harness the power of art to address social inequalities and foster diversity, inclusion, and creativity. By collaborating with communities, artists, and partners, they aim to inspire positive social change and help individuals reach their potential. With optimism and commitment, ZK promotes resilience, unity, and cohesion, believing that art can drive meaningful transformation through shared passion, expertise, and collective effort.
Community Arts Partnership (N Ireland)
Community Arts Partnership is an independent advocate for community arts, dedicated to promoting, developing, and delivering community-based creative activities. Its mission is to lead positive change through the arts, envisioning a just, inclusive, and creative society where diversity and participation are valued. The organisation supports access through advocacy and policy influence, while also encouraging authorship and ownership by actively engaging individuals and communities in artistic projects and programmes.
Compass Arts
Compass Arts, based in Eastbourne, is an intergenerational, artist-led organisation supporting those vulnerable to social isolation, trauma, mental illness, and hidden disabilities. For 20 years, it has offered free, compassionate, co-creative programmes led by interdisciplinary artists, providing safe spaces for skill-building and empowerment. Through exhibitions, events, and self-publishing, participants develop their artistic practices. The Compass Arts Collective supports artists seeking public engagement, while partnership projects focus on improving both community wellbeing and the environment.
Conscious Sisters
The Conscious Sisters CIC is a socially engaged arts company based in Plymouth, UK, delivering unique, collaborative art projects with and for communities. With over 40 years’ experience in inclusion and race work, they focus on exploring identity and aim to elevate community arts practice in the South West. Committed to accessibility and authenticity, The Conscious Sisters passionately believe in the power of art to transform lives.
Darwin Community Arts
Darwin Community Arts (DCA) is an independent, membership-driven not-for-profit organisation dedicated to community-based arts and cultural development. With a vision of a Darwin Region where art is created and shared by all, DCA champions art that values both community and the environment. Its mission is to democratise artistic production and distribution, empowering people to create art in a fragile world, reflecting the belief in collective creativity as a force for positive change.
Footscray Community Arts
Footscray Community Arts, established in 1974, is a leading community arts organisation in Melbourne’s west, founded by artists, unionists, and activists to ensure access to the arts for all. For 50 years, it has championed First Nations, culturally diverse, LGBTIQA+, and disabled artists through collaborative contemporary arts programs. Deeply rooted in Footscray’s history of migration and activism, it continues to foster creativity, social inclusion, and cultural development, making a significant impact on Australia’s cultural landscape.
Four Corners
Four Corners is a centre for film and photography, providing a dynamic learning, production and exhibition environment where filmmakers, photographers, artists, trainees and local people work together, building upon 50 years of radical, socially engaged approaches to photography and film. The building provides a flexible and accessible public space with a gallery, training rooms, film facilities, darkrooms, studio and workspace for creatives. They hold the Half Moon Photography Workshop (later known as Camerawork) archive as well as their own archive and are working to bring these unique archival resources into the public realm.
Fun Palaces
Fun Palaces is a movement that empowers local people to co-create cultural and community events, celebrating the creativity and brilliance within everyone. Inspired by Joan Littlewood and Cedric Price’s 1961 vision of a ‘laboratory of fun’, Fun Palaces promotes culture led by communities, placing participation at its core. Through workshops and support, it helps individuals, groups, and organisations across the UK and beyond to embed community-driven culture, championing the idea of culture at the heart of every community.
Greenwich Mural Workshop
Greenwich Mural Workshop (GMW), founded in 1975 by Carol Kenna and Stephen Lobb, is a community arts project centred on murals,. In the 1980s, the workshop expanded to include a printshop that embraced radical, political screen-printing, enabling communities to produce their own materials. GMW curated the Printing is Easy exhibition and catalogue (1986), reflecting on the UK community printshop movement, and organised For Walls With Tongues, an oral history of the mural movement. Although the printshop has closed, GMW continues its community arts practice today.
Heart of Glass
Heart of Glass is a Merseyside-based community arts organisation dedicated to socially engaged, collaborative art-making. It brings together artists and communities to explore social issues through accessible, inclusive, and participatory practices. Rooted in St Helens and active regionally and internationally, the organisation values diversity, shared storytelling, and co-creation. Projects tackle themes like mental health, migration, and climate justice, always prioritising marginalised voices. Heart of Glass works in unconventional spaces, from forests to libraries, believing art can transform understanding, build solidarity, and drive change. Its impact is shaped by collective experience, encouraging dialogue, care, creativity, and lasting community connections.
Hoxton Hall
Hoxton Hall has been a vital part of the Hoxton community since 1863, evolving with its people and reflecting the area’s diversity. Influenced by the dedication of May Scott, who became warden in 1957, the Hall grew as a space for community arts and creative exploration. From post-war classes to 1960s Shakespearean productions, it has long supported artistic expression. Today, Hoxton Hall hosts professional performances, youth arts, and heritage events. As a creative hub, it aims to connect communities with artists in an inclusive environment, nurturing local talent and empowering individuals to realise their creative potential through collaboration and celebration.
Junction Arts
Junction Arts, established in the 1970s as South Normanton Community Arts, is a long-standing community arts organisation based in South Derbyshire. Originating in mining communities near Junction 28 of the M1, it has grown from local play schemes and festivals to delivering district-wide creative projects. With a focus on wellbeing, inclusion, and social impact, Junction Arts develops innovative arts experiences that address inequality and foster community pride. Today, it continues to inspire change through collaborative arts, heritage projects, public art, and cultural events.
Katkatha Puppet Theatre
Katkatha, meaning ‘puppets and stories’ in Hindi, is a Delhi-based puppet theatre collective blending puppetry with storytelling drawn from diverse sources including Shakespeare, Indian epics, conflict zones, prisons, and children’s worlds. Founded in 1998 and registered as a trust in 2006, Katkatha views puppetry as animated theatre, not just stringed dolls. It produces original puppet-based performances using masks, objects, choreography and music, and collaborates globally across art forms. With strong international support, the organisation also runs training programmes, residencies, and mentorships to foster future puppeteers. Katkatha is committed to expanding audiences and raising the standard of Indian puppet theatre worldwide.
Mahogany Carnival Arts
Mahogany is a collective of multi-disciplinary artists specialising in large-scale kinetic sculptures and carnival costumes, using the human body as a core element in the art of “Mas Making” – a form of masquerade and street theatre. Founded in 1989 by designer Clary Salandy and structural engineer Michael Ramdeen, the group draws inspiration from the Trinidad Carnival. Mahogany has pioneered the development and understanding of Carnival Arts across the UK, introducing Mas Making to diverse European communities. Their award-winning work has gained international recognition and fosters cross-cultural collaboration, celebrating creativity and unity through vibrant, large-scale performances and costume design.
Meanwhile Gardens
Meanwhile Gardens is a cherished community space in west London UK that has flourished for over four decades as a vibrant, inclusive urban sanctuary. It offers a wide range of activities for all ages, from school visits for pond-dipping and planting sessions to gardening projects that support volunteers, including those facing challenges in their lives. The gardens host summer festivals, music events, and workshops, providing space for celebration, learning and connection. The Metronomes steel band rehearses here, training new generations of Caribbean musicians. Whether it’s children exploring wildlife, couples enjoying peaceful moments, or neighbours working side-by-side in the soil, Meanwhile Gardens remains a rare and vital place where community spirit continues to thrive.
Mid Pennine Arts
Mid Pennine Arts (MPA) is a commissioning agency based in Lancashire UK, creating ambitious, high-quality projects across the region and beyond. By bringing together art, people and places, MPA commissions original work rooted in the area’s heritage, landscapes and communities. Its projects challenge artists, inspire participants and enrich local life, often leaving a lasting impact. Through collaborations, MPA celebrates what makes each place unique while connecting meaningfully with audiences.
Mirrie Dancers
Mirrie Dancers was a Shetland-based community art project using light as a medium to engage the public, conceived by the author and artist Nayan Kulkarni for Shetland Arts. The project had two parts: Mirrie Light, involving workshops where over 300 participants created films that became public light installations; and Mirrie Lace, where 23 Shetland lace knitters crafted pieces for permanent light displays inside Mareel, Shetland’s arts centre. The installations blend hand-knitted lace and dynamic light to celebrate local culture. Together, the works form a lasting legacy of community creativity and are documented in several publications and exhibitions.
Notting Hill Carnival
Notting Hill Carnival is one of the world’s greatest community-led events, held every August Bank Holiday in West London. More than just a vibrant celebration of Caribbean culture, it is the result of months of hard work by costume makers, performers, sound system crews and organisers. Rooted in creativity and collaboration, the event brings together smaller communities to deliver a spectacular display of music, dance and heritage. Organisers aim to promote Carnival’s cultural significance, support its art forms, and ensure it remains inclusive, safe and inspiring. Efforts also focus on reviving Children’s Day and enhancing the experience for all involved.
One World Choir (Sheffield)
Sheffield One World Choir is a welcoming community choir open to all refugees and asylum seekers in Sheffield. Dedicated to fostering positive social change, the choir provides a vibrant space for people to connect through music. Meeting weekly for rehearsals and socialising, the choir also performs regularly at community events, promoting inclusion, cultural exchange, and a sense of belonging
Paddington Arts
Paddington Arts is a youth-focused community arts organisation dedicated to access, excellence, education, and fun. Offering workshops in dance, drama, steelpan, singing, and new media, it supports local young people from age 6 to 16+, helping develop life skills, talent, and leadership. With high-quality training, career advice, and opportunities to collaborate with professional artists and creatives, Paddington Arts nurtures creativity while providing pathways into further education and the arts industry.
Photography for Whom
Photography For Whom? is a periodical dedicated to socially-engaged photography, aiming to highlight important but overlooked work from the past while sparking debate about contemporary practice. By republishing texts from the community photography movement—often out of print or hard to access—alongside newly commissioned writings, it encourages critical reflection on the role of photography in social contexts today. Edited by Anthony Luvera, the publication is supported by GRAIN Projects and Multistory.
Same Sky
Same Sky is the largest community arts charity in the South East. Our portfolio includes projects large and small and everything from street parades to water-based theatre, carnivals to choreography; sculpture trails to fire and light spectaculars.
Setting Da Standards
Setting Da Standards (SDS) is a community-based creative hub in Croydon, South London, founded in 2018 by Makeda Bennett-Amparbeng and co-founded by Jade Reid. Inspired by Makeda’s role in challenging discriminatory practices, SDS was established to support emerging creatives. Backed by local council funding, SDS hosts hub nights at Matthews Yard, offering a platform for rappers, singers, poets, musicians, and comedians to perform, collaborate, and network, fostering a vibrant creative community.
Sound Sense
Sound Sense is the UK’s professional association for community musicians, supporting and advocating for the value of community music since 1990. Welcoming individuals and organisations, it offers tailored memberships with benefits such as insurance, DBS checks, job and funding opportunities, and inclusion in its Find a Musician directory. Through resources like the Sounding Board journal and a strong peer network, Sound Sense fosters connection, professional development, and champions music-making as a tool for positive social change.
Take a Part
Take A Part is a socially engaged art (SEA) organisation, dedicated to supporting, advancing, and sustaining SEA practice, community co-creation, and placemaking. Founded in Plymouth in 2006, it uses a community-first approach to empower underrepresented groups through culture. Known for co-commissioning national and international artists, Take A Part launched Social Making, the UK’s first biennial symposium on socially engaged practice. Now operating nationally and internationally, it partners with institutions to embed community voices in cultural development.
The Black-E
The Black-E is the UK’s national participatory arts centre, committed to artistic excellence and social transformation for over 50 years. Based in Liverpool, it champions cultural equity by connecting artists with communities, enabling local people to share their stories globally. The Black-E harnesses creative power across generations, promotes cultural diversity, challenges inequality, and enriches lives through inclusive, community-focused arts programmes that are ambitious for both participants and artists alike.
The Cabbage Field Community Opera
The “Cabbage Field” in Žemieji Šančiai, Kaunas, is a 13,000 sq m site transformed from a military wasteland into a civic and cultural hub. Originally home to 19th-century military cellars for sauerkraut, the site was degraded in the 1990s through illegal demolition and black-market trading. In 2014, artists and locals revived it through the Friendly Zone project, later forming a community to clean and reshape the area. Recognised internationally, the initiative inspired cultural events, including an opera composed by local residents and composer Vidmantas Bartulis. Annual festivals and civic engagement continue to support sustainable renewal and creative expression.
THe New Vic Theatre
The Victoria Theatre Company, was Britain’s first professional theatre to perform permanently in-the-round, a concept pioneered by Stephen Joseph in the 1950s. His company toured across England regularly visiting North Staffordshire. In 1962 Peter Cheeseman, who had been part of Stephen Joseph’s company, established a base in Stoke on Trent, the Victoria Theatre, becoming known for its innovative, documentary-style productions rooted in local working-class experiences. The purpose-built New Vic Theatre opened in Newcastle-under-Lyme in 1986, supported by public fundraising. The succeeding artistic directors, Gwenda Hughes and Theresa Heskins, have expanded its reach nationally and internationally. With acclaimed education and outreach programmes, including New Vic Borderlines, the theatre plays a vital role in the cultural and social regeneration of North Staffordshire.
TRinity
Trinity envisions a world where everyone can access and shape arts and culture, believing in its power to improve wellbeing, empower communities, and enrich society. Their mission is to empower communities through a diverse programme of arts, heritage, and cultural projects, guided by the values of Respond, Empower, Amplify. Trinity’s work is supported by national and local funders, donations, and self-generated income, ensuring inclusive, community-led creative opportunities.
UK Centre for Carnival Arts
The UK Centre for Carnival Arts (UKCCA), based in Luton, champions excellence in carnival arts and supports carnival groups across the UK. As an Arts Council England NPO, UKCCA promotes artistic innovation through spectacle arts, music, dance, and cultural expression rooted in carnival traditions. It leads major events such as the Luton International Carnival and engages in year-round collaboration with communities and artists. Committed to inclusivity, sustainability, and giving voice to underrepresented groups, UKCCA provides education, supports festivals, and adapts to contemporary challenges, including digital initiatives like National Children’s Carnival Week during Covid-19. Its vision is to inspire and lead Carnival’s future.
Unity Theatre Liverpool
Unity Theatre in Liverpool is a welcoming space for all to experience inspiring, boundary-pushing live performance. Dedicated to showcasing stories by and for the community, Unity champions diverse theatre-makers at every career stage, offering creative development across Merseyside. Beyond performances, it fosters debate and exploration through Q&As, screenings, and podcasts. Housed in a historic former synagogue, Unity has been a hub for innovative theatre since the 1980s.https://www.unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk/about/
Wildworks, Cornwall
Wildworks is a UK’s landscape theatre company, based in Cornwall, creating site-specific performances with communities both locally and worldwide. Known for transforming unconventional spaces—beaches, quarries, forests, and urban sites—Wildworks engages audiences beyond traditional theatre settings. Collaboration is central, with local people’s lived experiences shaping each production. Rooted in Cornwall’s landscapes and outdoor theatre traditions, Wildworks reimagines everyday human stories through inclusive, participatory processes that bring theatre to unexpected places and communities.