News
The Vital Spark Residency Takes Off!
The Spark welcomes this year’s cohort of Vital Spark Relationship Artists: Rebecca Muir, Alexis Maxwell, Olivia Corbin-Phillip and Anusha Subramanyam
The Vital Spark Residency
The Spark Arts for Children is thrilled to announce the start of its Relationship Artists residency, on November 4th. This programme aims to address the lack of representative work for children and families in the sector.
Vital Spark has become a movement which peaks next year with our Artist Takeover Day on March 6, 2025 (A date for your diaries).
“This residency is not just about bringing diverse artists together; it’s about creating a dialogue between artists and their work with national organisations, sector leaders and each other, to embrace change and challenge ways that no longer serve the industry, artists and ultimately children.” said Trina Haldar, Director of Spark Arts for Children.
“To create the change makers of tomorrow, we need to make space to grow them. At The Spark this begins with children and artists, in our home city of Leicester. We cannot wait to kick start the week with a ‘Would you rather…’ provocation from our Mega Bosses.”
The Relationship Artists programme is designed to encourage creativity, understanding and innovation. This paid initiative will also include Go & See events in January & Feb 2025, allowing artists to access world class work , break bread together and discuss what works, what does not and why?
“By integrating the arts into the curriculum through our biennial Festival and Schools programmes, children will develop tools to express their needs and make sense of the complicated world around them,” Trina added.
The Relationship Artists initiative is poised to leave a lasting impact on the children of Leicester and beyond, igniting a passion for the arts and creativity that will benefit them for years to come.
Vital Spark has become a movement which peaks next year with our Artist Takeover Day on March 6, 2025 (A date for your diaries).
Vital Spark Artist Profiles
The Vital Spark behind everything we do
We believe that all children should be able to experience arts and culture, and that they should be able to see themselves represented in these experiences. This is not yet the case for every child and we’re committed to changing that.
Our response is Vital Spark, and it's at the heart of everything we do. Vital Spark is about challenging and changing the lack of diversity in children’s arts and culture; it’s about diverse-led artistic decision making; it’s about not being afraid to stand up for what’s right.
We do this by supporting artists who are currently underrepresented in children’s arts and culture. We also work with partner organisations to create world-class opportunities for these artists and share best practice.
