Making Music Happen For Young People

ArtsTrain is an award-winning creative music project working with young people and music leaders based in Outer and South East London. We work primarily in the boroughs of Bromley, Bexley and Lewisham (but sometimes further afield).

We began in 2008 in Bromley in response to a survey commissioned by the local authority where young people stated that they wanted more musical activities. Our part of outer (South East) London has very little arts and musical activity available for young people who can’t afford to pay for it themselves.

There are very few organisations in this part of London able to offer free creative musical opportunities to young people who might have the enthusiasm and talent but not the means to pay for it.

We knew this project had the potential to make a real difference to young people’s lives as a result through the power of music.

From the start we wanted to focus on participants creating their own new music, as we believe the process is empowering and enables self-expression.

We believe all young people should have the chance to create their own music, of any genre, and feel a sense of pride in sharing their work with others.

We target and include as many different groups of young people as possible, particularly those who might face barriers, and support progression routes through our activity so young people get the chance to become mentors, assistant tutors, producers, etc.

We work in partnership with our regional music education hubs and many other organisations and agencies within the arts sector, music industry and community to make this happen. Artistically we encourage our participants and our Music Leaders to step outside their ‘musical comfort zones’ and try something new.

Our projects experiment with new genres and collaborations. We bring high quality and internationally renowned artists to our part of the region to inspire and encourage our participants and local audiences.

Over the last 10 years ArtsTrain has received ongoing funding awards from key funders including Arts Council England, Youth Music, PRS Foundation and The William Wates Foundation, and has been recognised as a model of good practice for our work in many publications and events. In 2019 we were awarded the London Youth ‘Arts and Culture’ Award and in 2020 we have been shortlisted for the prestigious ‘Hearts for the Arts’ ‘Best Arts Initiative’ award.