Theatre Explorers 

Theatre Explorers will transform career opportunities and aspirations for young learning disabled and autistic people in Newham. They will work with young people interested in creative careers as performers, facilitators and access consultants, who face barriers to mainstream training.

Through creative workshops and industry training they will empower them to take their next steps into the creative industries. Working with excellent local arts organisations, they'll upskill the industry to work with the next generation of disabled talent. Co-creation is at the heart of Shift the Scene and we’re delighted to be part of a programme that insists on being led by young disabled talent.

Shift at Space 52

BLINK Dance Theatre are obsessed with radical leadership. They are excited to receive funding from Shift the Scene to grow a youth dance theatre of dreams; a minimally verbal, sensory-centred space for learning-disabled leaders of tomorrow, facilitated by learning-disabled leaders of today. 

They’ll explore themes of belonging in BLINK’s new home in Nine Elms, Wandsworth: a huge first for the area. 

The project will prioritise local young people facing the most barriers to inclusion as they transition from school to adult life, with an ambition to influence wider cultural practice.

Creative Placements 

Creative Placements gives neurodiverse and learning-disabled young adults hands-on experience in creative design and build projects for events and festivals. Based in County Durham - one of the areas with the highest unemployment rates among adults with learning disabilities in the country - we believe the creative industries should reflect the full range of talent in our communities. 

Shift the Scene funding will equip participants with the skills and confidence to enter those industries through real work experience and paid internships. What excites us most is Shift the Scene's commitment to investing in the talents of young people.

Embark

Breaking into theatre careers shouldn't be blocked be physical access barriers - but for many young wheelchair users, it is. EMBARK builds sustainable pathways into theatre. Each year, they will partner with two young disabled writers and two young disabled directors each year, supporting them to create and stage bold new work in an accessible venue. With expert mentoring, practical workshops, and the chance to collaborate with professional disabled actors, designers, and creatives, participants get real industry experience. 

Youth Music's funding allows us to dedicate the necessary time to working with a particularly underserved community - young wheelchair users trying to build careers in theatre, when so many early career theatre opportunities don't have access. We've known this was an underserved community, but also one that would need a lot of time, support, and effort, so we were delighted to receive funding from a fund that recognises the value of in-depth, long-term support for small cohorts.

Building Pathways for d/Deaf Young Creatives

Deaf Rave is launching a bold Deaf‑led programme that creates youth‑steered pathways for the next generation of Deaf creatives in music and the arts. Designed for young Deaf people and shaped by their voices, the programme creates a space where they can feel the music, express themselves and lead. 

Through mentoring, performance and real industry opportunities, participants will build confidence and creative skills within a Deaf‑centred community. Youth Music’s support enables Deaf Rave to move from one‑off activity to a structured, long‑term programme, expanding reach, strengthening Deaf‑led role models and building clear progression routes into training, employment and leadership.

Our Sensory Home at Carrow House

Youth Music's support will enable Frozen Light to establish our Sensory Home in Norwich as a resource for the local profoundly learning disabled community. 

Through a new programme of regular workshops, co-creation and mentorship, we aim to open up new horizons for profoundly learning disabled-led creative arts by learning, exploring and nurturing innovative practices - all in an environment which values and celebrates what each and every person will bring. 

We're so excited by the collaborative ethos at the heart of the Shift the Scene fund, and cannot wait to work together and to share our discoveries along the way.

For With By

LALA Arts’ new program ‘For With By’ is a 4 year community-rooted, disabled-led & accessible creative ecosystem, providing first steps into art for young people and paid professional pathways for disabled creatives in a bold & impactful way.

Our 11–18yr strand culminates in a yearly co-created project, while our 18–30yr artist development program provides paid creative pathways into the arts. Alongside our young leaders steering group together, we are cultivating the future of disabled creative excellence.

FWB is redesigning the cultural landscape alongside disabled young people not for them, but with them and by them. Our work is innovative, ambitious & creatively driven

See Me Play My Way

See Me Play creates inclusive, youth-led creative spaces for Disabled and neurodivergent children and young people in Thanet, where access, autonomy and representation are central. In an area with high deprivation and many young people out of education, we provide one of the only consistent, flexible spaces families can rely on.

Youth Music’s support will allow us to expand our creative offer, deepen co-designed projects, and provide paid opportunities for Disabled practitioners and young adults. What excites us most is growing a genuinely anti-ableist, youth-led model where creativity is shaped by young people themselves

Balmy Army

Balmy Army is an art, activism, mental health and mutual care project led by more than 60 young disabled artists. Working with arts organisations in three UK locations, young people collectively reimagine a radical vision for mental health, expressing their struggle, joy and resistance, and shaping a new disability aesthetic rooted in mutual care.

The fund will enable us to work at scale nationally, while significantly increasing the access provision and psychological safety we offer to young people. Our project is unique in that it seeks to address some of the root causes of the youth mental health crisis through art and activism, creating a process that is also therapeutic in value.

Amplify

Amplify is a Disabled-led initiative creating meaningful, long-term opportunities for young Disabled people in Knowsley. Through a Youth Advisory Panel and Young Company, they will develop as artists, leaders and decision-makers by co-creating ambitious theatre while building skills, confidence and pathways into the arts. 

Youth Music’s support allows us to deliver this work sustainably in Knowsley, an area with low arts provision and a significant disability employment gap. Amplify is grounded in lived experience, supportive development and a commitment to access. We’re excited to drive change, share learning and collectively shift the scene with Disabled young people at the heart.

Unanima

Unanima will design and activate a bold, supported entry pathway into theatre for learning disabled and autistic young people in Mansfield. This work directly confronts the “cliff edge” beyond education, where creative ambition is too often overlooked and progression routes simply don’t exist.

we will co-create a programme of high-quality theatre-making, delivered through after-school sessions, masterclasses, mentoring, and opportunities to perform and share work publicly. Co-led by learning disabled and autistic artists, this is about more than participation, it is about identity, authorship, and progression.

Venture Arts Accessible Residency Programme

The Venture Arts Accessible Residency Programme is a four-and-a-half-year initiative supporting learning-disabled and neurodivergent artists aged 9–30 through inclusive workshops, partnerships, and paid residencies. Co-led by artist Sally Hirst and developed with the Whitworth, it combines training, mentoring, public art, and co-design to create clear progression routes into creative careers. Rooted in inclusive practice and the social model of disability, the programme removes barriers and centres disabled voices in artistic leadership. 

Youth Music’s support will enable Venture Arts to expand paid residencies, training, and progression pathways for learning-disabled and neurodivergent artists in our local area.  It will also strengthen access to creative careers and increasing representation across Manchester’s cultural sector. 

EPIC Individuals

EPIC Individuals supports young disabled artists in building careers on their own terms; shifting away from one-size-fits-all pipelines towards artist-led progression, and communicating lessons learnt to the wider sector. Youth Music’s support will allow participants to collaborate with experts, experiment across art forms and platforms, and develop skills to shape individualised career pathways. 

Based in Leicester and connected nationally (and internationally), it fosters a stronger, more inclusive creative sector. As part of Shift The Scene, We Are Epic are thrilled to be in a community dedicated to improving outcomes for young artists, and excited to learn from the young artists themselves.