Come along to our Summer Arts Pop-Up!
Opening Wed 6 - Sat 30 August (Weds, Thurs, Fridays & Saturdays, 11-3pm)
Aimed at children, young people and families in the Victoria Centre
Drop in to the old Disney Store on the top floor of the Victoria Centre this summer which will be transformed into a hub of free family hands-on activities, information and drop in workshops.
We asked children what they wanted to include in our Summer Arts Pop-up so families will find hands-on crafts, interactive activities as well as chilled reading spaces, building and construction play and lots, lots more.....
Open every week in August, Wed to Sat, the Summer Arts Pop Up is your one-stop shop to find out what's happening this summer. Come and say hello, get creative and celebrate children and young people's creativity with us.
It's for all ages and families to have fun together. No need to book - just come along!
In partnership with Young Creatives Nottingham, Connecting Notts and ChalleNGe Arts Partners.
Children's work on show again!
As well as regular activities and a changing programme of workshops, the Summer Arts Pop Up will also host exhibitions of children and young people's work.
There'll be chance to see the fantastic work submitted for:
- The Young Creative Awards
- The 'RED' Exhibition, work by pupils form Rufford and Crabtree Farm Primary Schools, as seen at Lakeside Arts and Bulwell Riverside
- 'Home': an installation created by schools from the Nottingham Schools Trust and previously shown at the NTU School of Art and Design in the Digital and Design building.
Building Child Friendly Creative City, together
Engaging more children and young people with arts and creativity
We are thrilled to announce the launch of Child Friendly Creative City - an ambitious three-year £1.5m programme to nurture children and young people's participation in arts, culture and creativity across Nottingham. It has been made possible through funding from the Arts Council, Nottingham Trent University and matched contributions from our partners.
We will strengthen existing arts partnerships and make new connections enabling more children, young people and communities to thrive, create, and be curious! Our programmes will continue to build stronger and deeper connections with and between cross-sector partners.
We will be:
· Listening to what children and young people have to say and take their views seriously in our LOUD and CLEAR projects
· Supporting more educational settings, especially secondaries and alternative providers, to develop the cultural entitlement for all their pupils through our CULTURAL RUCKSACK programme.
· Developing the CREATIVE TASKFORCE by enabling professional development, mentoring support and connections for practitioners, school staff and community advocates.
· Enhancing children’s well-being and understanding through NATURE CONNECTIONS to support environmental creativity at home and abroad.
· Planning for a shared CHILDREN’S FUND, creating a new collective fundraising scheme to enable children and young people to access to arts and culture.
A child-centred rights-based approach
Creativity is also at the heart of Nottingham’s ambition to become a UNICEF Child Friendly City.
Children tell us they want to be part of an inclusive, welcoming city where everyone can flourish and we will be working with community partners to develop festivals, events and platforms to celebrate children and young people.
“Arts and creativity are important to us because they help develop skills and imagination. You can find out things about yourself that you didn’t know before; you never know what you might be good at if you never have the chance to try new things.”
Onab, Year 10, Nottingham Academy.
Everyone has a part to play in building Child Friendly Creative City, join us!
Families - creative activities
Families - creative activities
Families - creative activities
Discover organisations and groups that offer creative activities for children and young people in the city. Why not try something new? There are arts groups, dance classes, youth theatre and music opportunities all year around - to name but a few!
Read the Summer Parent and Carers Newsletter to see a host of creative activities for children, young people and families!
Schools: Cultural Rucksack
Families - creative activities
Families - creative activities
Interested in bringing more creativity to your classroom, or wanting to develop new opportunities for your pupils? From teacher events and CPD to long-term partnerships, ChalleNGe brings you regular updates and boosts your creative connections. 2024/25 Wallplanner
Round-up of arts opportunities & network events: June 2025 Primary teachers newsletter and Secondary teachers newsletter.
Latest News & Opportunities
Get inside libraries for summer fun
Summer Reading Challenge and more!
12 July - 6 August 2025
Keep everyone reading over the holidays with The Summer Reading Challenge! Encourage your children to read six books to earn rewards such as a bookmark, stickers, a medal and certificate. Sign up in their local library or online from 12 July.
Libraries across the city have a host of other activities too, from Tots Time and Crafts to drawing your own comics and making a moving robot.
Have a look at what's happening in your area.
What's the Cultural Rucksack all about?
Building a Cultural Guarantee for pupils in Nottingham schools
Watch our Video Case study (click the red play button!)
Hear what children, teachers and arts providers have to say about their visits to Lakeside Arts, the Heritage Museum at University of Nottingham, Wollaton Hall and Papplewick Pumping Station, as part of our Cultural Guarantee Pilot programme (2023-2025).
Many thanks to Arts Council England and the 10 schools who have taken their pupils to new places over the last two years and shared their experiences.
For Teachers:
Culturemeets online
A-Z Directory for schools
A-Z Directory for schools
We bring teachers and arts professionals together for termly online network meetings called CultureMeets. We begin with 5min presentations from arts organisations about their upcoming exhibitions, workshops and resources before a themed discussion.
See all past Culturemeets here. Contact hello@challengenottingham.co.uk if you are a teacher and want to book a 1:1 conversation.
A-Z Directory for schools
A-Z Directory for schools
A-Z Directory for schools
Nottingham's Cultural Rucksack encourages the development of high quality partnerships between arts, cultural and heritage providers and schools - embedding a range of rich and diverse experiences to bring your curriculum to life.
Nottingham's schools are signing up to become 'Cultural Rucksack schools' - supporting their pupils to feel connected and valued by their city. Find out more about becoming a CR school here.
Creativity Collaboratives
A-Z Directory for schools
Creativity Collaboratives
Nottingham's Creativity Collaboratives programme has involved 12 schools exploring and embedding approaches around 'Teaching for Creativity' over 3 years. Watch our Yr 3 FILM
Find out more about the Creative Practitioners and read our latest case studies.
See the Creativity Exchange website and Leading for Creative Thinking website for inspiration, links and resources.
City-wide collaborative projects
Art of Belonging
Child Friendly Nottingham
Celebrating Languages
Art of Belonging is a city-wide programme that seeks to welcome refugees and asylum seekers in Nottingham. The Art of Belonging Pledge has now been signed by 14 arts organisations and we have a growing network of creative practitioners who are being supported to facilitate sessions with new arrivals. From partnership projects with NEST (the Nottingham Education Sanctuary team) and arts venues, to the Refugee Roots regular creative programme and collaborations with Nottingham Playhouse, NAE and more - there are many ways you can support this work and get involved.
Celebrating Languages
Child Friendly Nottingham
Celebrating Languages
We're delighted to be working in partnership with schools, communities, arts partners and our two Universities to celebrate our diverse languages and dialects in Nottingham.
Thanks to funding from NTU, 8 partnership projects have been supported to explore new partnerships between arts organisations, schools and community groups to highlight and celebrate Languages within their work.
We are also excited to be the Community partner for a Co(l)laboratory and welcome Jack Benjamin as our PhD researcher.
Child Friendly Nottingham
Child Friendly Nottingham
Child Friendly Nottingham
Child Friendly Nottingham is a city-wide partnership programme to put children's rights into practice. Lots of organisations are supporting children and young people to have a meaningful say in local decisions, services and spaces. Training and resources from UNICEF are available for teams and organisations to get involved.
Over 9000 children and young people collaborated to choose 3 'badges' (areas to focus on) which are: Safe and Secure; Education & Learning and Healthy. 'Equal and included is the golden thread, linking all our work together.
RSE Day
Child Friendly Nottingham
Every year, we work in partnership with Catherine Kirk from Nottingham City Council on developing a collaborative schools project and resources to celebrate Relationship & Sex Education (RSE) Day.
For 2025, the theme is 'Communicate' focusing on healthy, positive communication in relationships. Together we have commissioned artist Millie Yarwood to gather children and young people’s views and create a mural in the Arboretum. Millie has also run a creative CPD session for teachers.
Find out about the work of the Achieve Well Team and get involved!
Connecting Notts
Connecting Notts is our Youth Cultural Partnership that meets monthly to bring together representatives from ChalleNGe arts and community partners (16-26 year olds) to collaborate and engage the next generation of cultural leaders in the city.
Facilitated by ChalleNGe and Upstart Projects (who also run Voice Mag) members of Connecting Notts plan events for a wider network of young people, to better connect, network and shape arts opportunities and professional development for young people.
Bulwell Arts Festival
We believe that art opportunities should be on every child's doorstep, in neighbourhoods, schools and parks - as well as within the fabulous arts venues of our city.
We work in close partnership with Bulwell Arts Festival (hosted by One Vision Partnership) and Bilborough Arts Festival - supporting local creative activities in community centres, schools and libraries in the run up to their annual Art festivals.
Check out the 2025 brochures for both festivals!
