Young Producers Inspire will equip 72 young people aged 11–25 across Rochdale Borough with creative production skills between March 2025 and December 2026.
Part of the Rochdale Cultural Compact’s ambitious two-year Place Partnership Project, Young Producers Inspire is delivered by Cartwheel Arts, Breaking Barriers, Your Trust, and Create Rochdale LCEP, together with a wide range of guest partners and organisations.
In 2024, Cartwheel Arts partnered with Rochdale Youth Service to deliver a Young Producers’ project that empowered young people from Heywood’s Darnhill estate to design and lead activities for the much-loved Darnhill Festival, which is a free, large-scale cultural celebration in the heart of the Darnhill estate. Participants aged 11–19 were given a budget and the freedom to shape events for their peers and other festival attendees. The Young Producers had hands-on experience in budget management, artist programming, stewarding, and catering and developed leadership and learning how to work successfully as a team.
“The youth service means the world to me. I’m part of the Young Producers group, which is a group where we plan activities to bring to people and let them have loads of fun. We planned events for the Darnhill Festival and did things like a silent disco, made healthy smoothies and lots of creative activities.”
“I get to be creative and have lots of fun.”
Check out the film about the Darnhill Young Producers here:
Thanks to support from the National Lottery Know Your Neighbourhood Fund and the Guinness Partnership, the group not only helped to create the festival, but built the foundations for the further programme Young Producers Inspire, which has funding from the DCMS Cultural Development Fund and Breaking Barriers to create new opportunities for young people across Rochdale to become involved in the arts and develop production skills. Additionally, in early 2025, the Rochdale Development Agency, on behalf of Rochdale’s Cultural Compact, secured Arts Council England Place Partnership funding, together with match funding from partners including Heywood Town Board for the project.
Delivered by Breaking Barriers, the inaugural Young Producers Inspire cohort welcomed emerging practitioners aged 16+ to a week-long intensive programme. Designed to sharpen skills, expand networks, and build confidence, the programme featured:
“Producers Week has been exceptional, so far, I’ve learnt so much. I’ve learnt about accessibility, risk management, and these are skills you wouldn’t know without being taught.”
“It’s really helped me personally through a time of uncertainty because before this, I had a very limited network, and this has provided me with the sort of network I need to go on and do great things.”
Each participant also received a seed commission to develop their own creative project in Rochdale, supported by ongoing mentorship and guidance. This stage was made possible through funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).
The Young Producer Inspire programme will run from early 2026 until December 2026, with Your Trust working in partnership with Brighter Sound. This project will connect young people to the newly refurbished Heywood Civic Centre and support the group to explore the centre’s possibility as a cultural base in Heywood.
Young Producers Inspire has received funding and support from the Arts Council England Place Partnership Fund, Rochdale Development Agency, National Lottery Know Your Neighbourhood Fund, Rochdale Borough Council, DCMS, UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Heywood Town Board.
