Skip to main content
Two young people stand together, smiling and looking toward something out of frame. The person on the left has long, vibrant magenta hair, wears a black graphic t-shirt under a black leather-style jacket, and a plaid skirt. The person on the right has long brown hair and wears a light grey long-sleeved top and blue jeans, carrying a black tote bag. Both are wearing lanyards with ID badges. In the blurred background, another person in a black t-shirt and a person in a blue shirt are partially visible.
Two young people stand together, smiling and looking toward something out of frame. The person on the left has long, vibrant magenta hair, wears a black graphic t-shirt under a black leather-style jacket, and a plaid skirt. The person on the right has long brown hair and wears a light grey long-sleeved top and blue jeans, carrying a black tote bag. Both are wearing lanyards with ID badges. In the blurred background, another person in a black t-shirt and a person in a blue shirt are partially visible.

In Focus: Partnerships & system change

Back to review

Culture Start and its partners have not only delivered activity for young people, it has also strengthened the city’s cultural infrastructure.

Reaching new communities

Culture Start has successfully engaged children and young people, particularly those who have had little or no experience with the arts outside school. Its approach to engagement has evolved over time, ensuring that most participants meet multiple eligibility criteria.

By embedding delivery within hyperlocal organisations, youth clubs, and community hubs, the programme reaches those who are often overlooked by mainstream provision, creating meaningful opportunities for participation and belonging.

New ways of working and partnerships

The programme has strengthened Sunderland’s cultural ecosystem by reducing fragmentation and establishing a structured network where cultural and youth organisations can meet and collaborate.

This more systematic approach has enabled partnerships that previously did not exist or were purely coincidental, allowing organisations to co-create new activities and offer services that would have been impossible on their own.

“This is the first time that a partnership has come to third sector delivery partners in the city and asked ‘what can we do together?'”

Culture Start Strategic Partner, 2026

Capacity building

Culture Start has acted as a driving force for building capacity and capability across partners. By providing a stable 18-month window of activity, the programme bridges gaps left by short-term funding cycles and allows projects to deliver more frequent, and higher-quality arts experiences than would otherwise be possible.

Group facilitators can offer better, more structured activities with support from creative partners and additional resources, in venues where arts provision would otherwise be minimal or informal.

Future Sustainability

The partnerships and delivery models established through Culture Start have embedded activity in the communities where it is needed most, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Poverty Proofing® and systematic improvements have strengthened organisations’ ability to sustain engagement over time.

The Ignite Bursary has the potential to be independently funded, providing a vehicle around which delivery partners and creative practitioners can convene, supported by Pay it Forward initiatives within Sunderland’s creative economy.

Partners also recognise the value of a dedicated coordinator to maintain collaborations, ensure continuity, and connect schools, hubs, and venues to sustain momentum long term.

 

Back to review