CREATIVE PROJECTS WITH PURPOSE
Example project with Ark Schools
Carys has worked on a range of programmes and projects which use the power of the arts to enable social change through enabling people to express and advocate for themselves. They have worked in education throughout their career, as well as with a number of different organisations where art and social justice are at their core.
Music
Carys is the former Music Programme Manager for the 39 Ark Schools, a network of schools based in areas of need. Now continuing to work as a freelance project manager with the programme, she continues to work with a large and diverse team of musicians to provide excellent music opportunities in schools, as well as through large-scale events at the Barbican Centre and abroad. Providing opportunities for young people to express themselves and have increased agency is a core part of her work, and the ‘Summer Sounds’ hybrid music festival she co-designed in 2021 with a group of 90 children, to broadcast and involve thousands of children in the network, was longlisted for a Digital Culture Award from DCMS and Arts Council England. She is also passionate about diversifying the music education sector through providing alternative routes into the industry, and piloted a Youth Leadership programme to provide training, mentoring and work experience for young people facing barriers.
Carys was also the project manager for Spitalfields Music’s renowned Trainee Music Leader programme and their Skills Lab series in 2022. They have previously worked as Executive Director for a local youth music organisation, been a board member for different musical organisations, as well as an assessor for Youth Music.
Carnival
As a firm believer in the importance of inter-disciplinary arts, carnival is one of Carys’ favourite areas to work, bringing together the most diverse groups through participation for all. Her work as a production manager has led her to work on participatory projects such as Night of Festivals, Waterloo Carnival and Doorstep Carnival, as well as bigger performances such as the Mexican Embassy’s Day of the Dead celebrations at the British Library, and Jax Jones’ performance at the Capital FM Summertime Ball at Wembley Stadium!
Carys also managed the street venues at Boomtown Festival’s KidzTown for five years, where children could engage in imaginative play, podcasting, dance and much more; and has also worked with London School of Samba. She also managed the Youth Programme at Asa Baako Festival in Ghana in 2015, creating a programme of activities for the children to take part in, including costume-making and performance in the street carnival.
Theatre
Carys has a passion for participatory and forum theatre, and its unique ability to build confidence and create dialogue within communities. Having worked for Theatre for a Change in Ghana in 2015, and their projects supporting female sex workers in the Old Fadama slums, they also worked with Pan Intercultural Arts’ Amies project and Mamasuze, two organisations which support survivors of trafficking, refugees and FGM survivors through music, theatre and art activities.
Carys also has a passion for theatre and the performing arts more widely, and worked and performed at the Edinburgh Fringe for five years, including with the first UK tour of Cameryn Moore’s ‘Phone Whore’.
