WHAT IS QUENCH YOUNG ARTISTS?

Quench Young Artists is a weekly open access youth club that runs out of Quench Gallery, operating since QYA is for young people aged 13-17 who face barriers to the arts. Barriers include special educational needs (SEN), not in education employment or training (NEET status) and / or young people from lower-economic households. 

Our key features are:

  •  Free food and materials provided to support young people developing their creative practice at home.

  • Off-site excursions to creative spaces and enrichment activities to develop independence and increase well-being.

  • Opportunities for mentoring from artists and workshops to skill-up on interests.

WHO FUNDS QYA?

 QYA is currently funded by the National Lottery until the end of August 2026.

Since launching at Quench Summer School in 2023, QYA has been supported by NHS England, National Lottery Awards for All, Margate Creative Land Trust and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Our long term aim is to secure long-term funding for the project so we can continue without gaps in provisions. 

OUR MISSION STATEMENT

We achieve this through five pathways:

  1. BUILDING PERSONAL CREATIVE PRACTISE 

    1. HOW? Weekly artist-led workshops in creative making plus provision of free art materials so participants can continue creating beyond our sessions

  2. STRENGTHENING WELL-BEING AND CONFIDENCE  

    1. HOW? By offering a youth-led, trauma-informed environment where participants experiment with new materials, build positive relationships and strengthen creative thinking skills.  

  3. CREATING PATHWAYS INTO EMPLOYMENT AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES 

    1. How? Connecting young people with professional artists, exhibitions, mentoring, volunteering and work experience within Quench Gallery. 

  4. REMOVING BARRIERS TO CREATIVE EDUCATION 

    1. How? We remove barriers to creative education by prioritising young people who are underrepresented in the arts, including those with SEN, care-experienced young people, those who are NEET, LGBTQIA+ young people and those from low-income households.

  5. LIVED EXPERIENCE PRACTITIONERS 

    1. All our staff are trauma-informed trained youth workers who share one or more barriers to the arts that young people also face. 

QYA’s core objective: To remove barriers to creative education and support young people to develop the confidence, creative skills and networks needed to sustain artistic practice or progress into further learning, volunteering and creative careers.

READ OUR 2025 programme evaluation by margate creative land trust to find out more

MCLT QYA IMPACT REPORT

how to get involved

If you are young person, carer, parent or referral partner, you can send an expression of interest below.

If you are a practitioner or artist who wants to work with Quench Young Artists please email us at quenchgallery@gmail.com

QYA REFERRAL FORM