During the reporting period, Out Loud Arts Collective CIC delivered a range of accessible creative, cultural and physical activities for children, young people, families and adults across Swansea. Our work focused on creating opportunities for people who may face barriers to accessing mainstream arts, cultural, and wellbeing activities. Wherever possible, we provided activities free of charge, with our low-cost women’s dance sessions as the main exception. During the year, we delivered 12 workshops in partnership with Swansea Council’s Evolve/CMET services, including youth club sessions and targeted work with boys who were not attending mainstream education and were receiving additional support. We also delivered two workshops with Swansea Youth Justice Service. Across our work with Evolve/CMET and Youth Justice, we engaged approximately 50 young people. In January 2026, we began developing Physical to Lyrical, an initiative combining boxing-based movement and physical activity with poetry and creative expression. The project was designed to provide an alternative route into creativity for young people who may be less likely to engage with traditional arts provision. Other activities during the reporting period included music, collage and visual arts sessions for young people aged 14+, where approximately 25 participants created music and accompanying album artwork; K-Pop Demon Hunters themed arts, crafts and dance activities for approximately 40 children aged 5–12; Pizza and Poetry for young people aged 13+, engaging approximately 10 participants; and Boxing and Beats, which combined DJ activity, poetry, boxing and visual art and engaged approximately 30 participants. We also worked in partnership with Swansea Council Cultural Services on Stories of the City, a heritage collage project which engaged approximately 50 participants across schools, SEN/ALN adult groups and college settings. Our community wellbeing work included poetry and wellbeing activity with a global majority men’s group, engaging approximately 15 participants, and blackout poetry activity with a mothers and toddlers group, involving approximately 10 mothers and 12 children under the age of three. We continued to provide regular low-cost dance sessions for women aged 18+, typically engaging 6 to 15 participants per session, creating an accessible opportunity for physical activity, confidence, wellbeing, and social connection. Across our programme, we worked with approximately nine artists and facilitators, supporting local creative practitioners while bringing professional creative experiences directly into community settings. Our approach is based on the principle that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. Rather than expecting communities to access traditional cultural spaces, we work with partners to take creative opportunities into places where people already feel comfortable and connected. During this reporting period, the community benefit included increased access to arts and cultural activity; opportunities for creative expression, physical activity, and wellbeing; improved social connection; and opportunities for children and young people to develop confidence and explore their creativity. Through partnerships with Swansea Council services, Swansea Youth Justice Service, UWTSD, community organisations, local artists and other stakeholders, Out Loud Arts Collective CIC has continued to develop an inclusive model of community arts provision that aims to remove barriers to participation and ensure that more people have the opportunity to create, participate and have their voices heard.

Out Loud Arts Collective CIC considers its key stakeholders to include the children, young people, families and adults who participate in our activities; local community groups; artists and facilitators; schools and education providers; Swansea Council services; youth and support services; community organisations; and other local partners working with the communities we aim to support. During the reporting period, we consulted and engaged with stakeholders in a variety of ways. This included digital communication, emails, meetings, informal discussions, conversations with participants during and after activities, engagement with youth groups, and attendance at wider community consultation and networking events. We worked particularly closely with organisations and services that have direct relationships with children and young people. This included discussions with youth groups and professionals supporting young people to better understand which activities would be engaging, accessible, and appropriate for the people they work with. Consultation with children and young people was also an important part of our approach. Rather than assuming what participants wanted, we used conversations and feedback during our activities to understand their interests, the creative opportunities they would engage with, and the barriers they experienced in accessing existing provision. We also attended community consultations and discussions led by other organisations. This helped us better understand wider local priorities and identify opportunities for collaboration, rather than duplicating existing provision. Based on stakeholder feedback and consultation, we adapted and developed our delivery to reflect the interests and needs of the communities we work with. This included taking activities into familiar community and youth settings, keeping most activities free for participants, working across different art forms, and combining creative activity with areas of interest such as music, dance, and physical activity. Feedback and conversations with young people also helped us develop multidisciplinary approaches such as Physical to Lyrical, which combines boxing and physical activity with poetry and creative expression, and other activities that bring together music, visual art, poetry, dance, and physical activity. Consultation with partner organisations also helped us identify groups that may face barriers to mainstream arts and cultural provision and informed how and where we delivered activities. We intend to continue developing this approach by maintaining ongoing dialogue with participants, youth groups, community organisations, artists, and local services to ensure Out Loud Arts Collective’s activities remain responsive, accessible, and relevant to the communities we serve.

No remuneration was received

No transfer of assets other than for full consideration