Birmingham Hippodrome’s Young Community Drop-In Sessions have been developed by our Young Advocates.
Suitable for anyone aged 14+, these sessions have been designed to be creative outlets for young people and offer spaces to relax, connect with others and feel welcome.
Each drop-in session invites some of the best people currently working in the creative industries to host workshops looking at a range of art forms, skills and careers.
The sessions are open to young people of all levels and abilities. We can offer support through a buddy system where you’ll be paired with someone from the Hippodrome or a Young Advocate, additional information about what to expect on the day, help with how to get to the building or anything else you may need. If you’d like to reach out, click the button below and email us.
Our next Young Community Drop-In is on Fri 16 Feb 2024 and the theme is Ideas into Reality. We will be offering the following workshops from 1pm:
Crafting with Mahawa
Young Community Drop-in fave Mahawa is back for some mindful crafting!
World Building with Polarbear
Steven Camden aka Polarbear is an internationally acclaimed spoken word artist, award winning author, poet and storyteller from Smethwick, near Birmingham. Since first stepping on stage in 2004, he has performed, presented and led creative projects from Manchester to Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur to California. He writes novels, plays, screenplays and poems celebrating his mixed heritage and the amazing people he grew up around, placing his participatory practise and use of story in educational and community settings at the core of all his work.
Storytelling with Grace Barrington
Grace is an experienced playwright, dramaturg and workshop facilitator. She was a Foundry Artist at Birmingham Rep, and is a co-founder of Writers Block, a scratch night for West Midlands creatives. Grace also works with MAIA and Yard Arthouse supporting artists with radical imagination.
Introduction to Poetry with Sipho Ndlovu
Sipho Ndlovu is a poet, dancer, actor and writer who regularly brings all his talents together to create work without boundaries. Well-known in the Birmingham poetry scene, Sipho has 10+ years experience working with young people and community groups from various backgrounds. From mainstream education, to disability specialist schools and facilitating industry professionals, nationally & internationally.
There will also be the opportunity to hear about the work of our brand new New Work & Artist Development department. The New Work & Artist Development department is a key part of Birmingham Hippodrome’s new five-year strategy, aiming to make the Hippodrome the most accessible venue of its scale and to contribute to increasing the production and distribution of new creative work in and from the city.
From 12.30-1pm, Sophia Griffin, playwright and Head of New Work & Talent Development here at Birmingham Hippodrome, will be around to chat all about the ways we support artists to turn their ideas into reality. It’s an opportunity not to be missed!
We’ll be providing food, snacks, breakout spaces and good vibes! We can’t wait to see you there.
We want to make sure that our events are as accessible to everyone as possible, so please do get in touch if you need any support in being able to join us.