Inspire Young Producers Programme

Young Producers Inspire will offer creative production skills to 720 young people aged 11 – 25 across Rochdale Borough between March 2025 – December 2026. 

Young Producers Inspire is part of Rochdale Cultural Compact’s ambitious two-year Place Partnership Project and will be delivered by Cartwheel Arts, Breaking Barriers, Your Trust, and the Create Rochdale LCEP, with a range of guest partners and organisations. 

Where it all started: In 2024, Cartwheel Arts delivered a Young Producers project in partnership with Rochdale Youth Service, supporting young people to deliver a youth-led programme of activities as part of the popular Darnhill Festival – a free, large scale cultural festival in the heart of the Darnhill housing estate in Heywood. Young people aged 11 – 19 were given a budget, and autonomy to plan activity aimed at their peers and other local young people, developing skills in budget management, teamwork, selecting and programming artists, stewarding and catering, thanks to the support of the National Lottery Know Your Neighbourhood Fund & Guinness Partnership. 

Check out their great work featured in this short film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVrjWJa4XCA

 Feedback from young people: "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 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" 

Thanks to funding from the DCMS Cultural Development fund, Cartwheel Arts & Breaking Barriers were able to build on the learning from this project and develop the ideas for the Young Producers Inspire programme – offering opportunities for young people from across the borough to get involved and develop production skills. 

Young Producers Inspire 2025/26: In early 2025 Rochdale Development Agency, on behalf of the Rochdale’s Cultural Compact, secured Arts Council England Place Partnership Funding, as well as additional match funding from various partners, including the Heywood Town’s Board, which included the ambitious 2-year Young Producers Inspire programme. 

In March 2025, the first Young Producers Inspire cohort was delivered by Breaking Barriers for emerging practitioners aged 16+. This week-long intensive was designed to help early-career producers sharpen their skills, grow their networks, and connect with like-minded creatives. A 1-week programme was packed with industry insights, inspiring sessions with guest producers, venue visits and wellbeing activities. Exploring sessions on Access, Risk Assessments, Fundraising, Unlocking Creativity, Setting up as a Freelancer and much more. Plus, each participant received a seed commission to develop their own project in Rochdale, plus ongoing support and mentorship, which was funded through UK SPF funding. 

Find out more in this short film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUTN_o4DzUA 

"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." The Young Producer Inspire programme will continue until December 2026, with Your Trust delivering a cohort in partnership with Brighter Sound in early 2026, connecting participants with the newly refurbished Heywood Civic Centre. 

Young Producers Inspire would not be possible without the funding and support from the Arts Council Place Partnership Fund, Rochdale Development Agency, Rochdale Borough Council, DCMS, UK SPF and the Heywood Town’s Board. 

If you are interested in finding out more about future activity, please contact Cartwheel Arts via admin@cartwheelarts.org.uk or 01706 361300.