Are you passionate about using art & activism to impact your community? Submissions are now open for the Creative Agents of Climate Change programme. This is an online residency programme that develops skills, knowledge and capacity in building creative campaigns to mobilise communities in the fight against climate change. This is for people aged 18-30 and starts on 20th of July 2026 for two weeks.
To Be Frank is hosting a networking event in the Northern Quarter for creatives in the city. This is a great opportunity to meet new people. If you are a filmmaker, photographer, artist, musician or any type of creative – this might be for you.
Based at Aviva Studios, you’ll go behind the scenes of how work is made for Manchester International Festival 2027 (MIF27) – one of the world’s leading international festivals. Over 12 months, you’ll be embedded within Factory International, gaining direct access to commissions, creative teams and the decision-making processes that shape large-scale, ambitious work.
Each Fellow will be paired with a Producer, allowing real insight into how projects are developed and delivered. You’ll also take part in structured sessions with the wider Producing team, exploring the core skills, knowledge and realities of producing across art forms.
This is a chance to experience MIF from the inside while pushing forward your own creative practice. You’ll have workspace, opportunities to engage with specialist teams and the chance to pitch a new idea for the Public Realm programme.
Aged 18-30 and want to know more about music journalism in Wales? The upcoming NextGen Community event in Cardiff offers young creatives industry insight to help further careers in music.
Youth Music have partnered with award-winning Welsh music platform Klust to host an evening of panel discussions, live performances and networking at Paradise Garden, Cardiff. Hear from industry professionals on the importance of music press for artists, routes into music journalism and making use of local music scenes as a creative.
Whether you’re an emerging artist or working behind the scenes, our panel of experts will cover all areas of the ever-changing industry of music journalism.
Are you passionate about making a difference in your community and shaping the future of Greater Manchester?
Do you want to build your confidence, broaden your civic leadership skills and step into roles where you can influence real change?
This is a hands-on leadership experience designed to build on your insight, skills and confidence to enable you to step into civic and public leadership roles in your community and beyond. It is about discovering or amplifying your voice, building both strategic and peer to peer networks and understanding how systems work so you can influence further.
Leading for Legacy is for diverse people of all genders, from underrepresented and Global Majority backgrounds, living or working in Greater Manchester who are passionate about civic and social leadership.
Calling all creatives and songwriters making musical theatre work within the pop music verse – POP up! & Lowry has an opportunity for you!
POP up! is a brand-new event series showcasing North West songwriters and creatives working across pop music in all its forms including musical theatre with pop at its heart. We’re here to spark collaborations, celebrate fresh voices, and champion writers creating bold, emotionally-driven work with full main character energy.
| Kings Trust have so many great courses for young people aged 16-30 to get involved in. Courses are free and give people the tools to build their confidence, find a job or start their own business. |
Early Career Promoter Fund recognises the vital role independent promoters play in supporting the talent pipeline across England, and offers grant funding and capacity building support, with the aim of bolstering the local, regional and national ecosystems.
Grants of up to £3,500 will be available to support a range of activity, including:
The fund aims to help emerging promoters to do what they do best – book and promote shows to develop scenes, support artists and DJs and to reach and engage audiences locally, regionally, and nationally, and build sustainable careers in the grassroots music sector. Those receiving support will be able to step up to book and promote talent at a scale beyond their current level, and build their capacity, skills and networks.
HOME Young Film Collective is a 6 month programme for 18-25 year olds who want to take part in film workshops covering everything from practical filmmaking skills, programming, distribution and will culminate in the making of a number of short films that will be screened in HOME’s cinema. The 6 month programme will begin in February 2026 and applications are open now.
Developed by Lowry, HOME and Z-arts, the course is designed to give early-career producers in Greater Manchester the structured training, networks and practical tools they need to thrive. For 2026, Company Chameleon joins the programme as a new partner, and Stage One return for a second year.
Our pilot made clear just how essential this kind of development is — especially at a time when the sector faces a shortage of producers and few accessible pathways exist for new and diverse talent to enter the field.
English Conversation Cafe is for anyone who speaks very little English or none, who would like to learn more about the English language and social culture/traditions, or just to socialise and beat the blues of isolation.
Working with outstanding professional artists, being in YEP you’ll develop your creativity, learn new skills, gain qualifications and make new friends in our welcoming and supportive groups and sessions.
In partnership with Jigsaw Homes, we’re bringing back our Skills Exchange programme where we’ll be running 2x week long training courses for young people aged 16-18 (or 18-25 with an EHCP) who live in Tameside and aren’t in education, training or full time employment. The courses we’ll be running are:
Hospitality: 8 Sept – 13 Sept from 1-4pm at Dukinfield Community Hub
HOSPITALITY LINK
Live Events Production: 20 Oct – 25 Oct from 1-4pm at Tameside Arts Centre
LIVE EVENTS PRODUCTION LINK
As part of the course, participants will get further support from a Key Worker at Jigsaw to help them into further employment or training opportunities AND the chance to see a free show here at RET. We can also support covering cost of travel, lunches etc or any other barriers that people might face.
WHATCLASS is a revolution in modern music learning. On-demand, bite-size classes directly from the most influential artists in music culture, with insight and skills you can use immediately.
Whether you aspire to perform on the biggest stages or simply explore a personal passion for music-making, WHATCLASS empowers your artistic journey, one class at a time.
Click the link above to find out more.
Are you an artist who has either tried, or would like to try, working with improvisation in your music? Soundcheck will help define what jazz means to you.
There are 10 places up for grabs and we want to make sure everyone across the whole of Greater Manchester has a chance to apply.
We invite you to apply by filling out this short form (we’ve timed it, and think it takes about 15 minutes to complete). You will also need to upload a 3 minute video of you performing an original piece of music. Please be aware that you cannot save and return to this form or download a copy of your answers afterwards.
If you’d prefer to apply by video instead, answering the questions by speaking to a camera, that’s fine. Just film yourself answering the same questions in this form, upload the video to WeTransfer and send it to talent@manchesterjazz.com
Applications will close 15th September, 9 am.
Commercials are full of people like you and TV/film producers want REAL PEOPLE, not posh drama school graduates. However, unless you’ve been to stage school or had some kind of formal training, it’s hard to be yourself on camera. That’s where Manchester Television Workshops comes in.
MTW take people from all walks of life and teaches them acting skills and industry secrets that gives them everything they need to get work in the industry. They are all about diversity, so classes are open to everyone.
MTW only take people into workshops who they feel have potential, and offer an introductory class completely FREE OF CHARGE – it gives you the chance to show what you can do and to see if you like what they do!
Lines open 10am-6pm, Monday to Friday
The Early Career Promoter Fund is open again for applications after a successful first year of the programme. For the latest advice see the ‘How to Make a Strong Application’ webinar with Grants & Programmes Manager Ben Price on the PRS YouTube channel here.
Early Career Promoter Fund recognises the vital role independent promoters play in supporting the talent pipeline across England, and offers grant funding and capacity building support, with the aim of bolstering the local, regional and national ecosystems.
Grants of up to £3,500 will be available to support a range of activity, including:
The fund aims to help emerging promoters to do what they do best – book and promote shows to develop scenes, support artists and DJs and to reach and engage audiences locally, regionally, and nationally, and build sustainable careers in the grassroots music sector. Those receiving support will be able to step up to book and promote talent at a scale beyond their current level, and build their capacity, skills and networks.
Managed by PRS Foundation and supported by Arts Council England and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Early Career Promoter Fund also helps to address under representation, ensuring support reaches a diverse range of promoters, and proactively encourages grantees to support a diverse range of artists and music genres nationwide.
Click the link above or here to find out more.
Manchester is a literary city and so there are a multitude of Manchester writers’ groups. Below is a list of all the writing groups in Manchester that we’re aware of.
The groups we list here are mostly for creative writing rather than non-fiction. They cover all genres and types of creative writing: short stories, novels, novellas, screenplays, theatre and poetry. Most of them are free or have a nominal charge.
Click here to see the list of creative writing groups in Manchester.
“Helpful and supportive regular online and in-person get-togethers for podcasters from everywhere!
We’re a community of global podcasters who help each other make brilliant podcasts.
We all make podcasts as producers, editors or presenters.
Each Podcast Club meetup is a real-life podcaster FAQ asked and answered by the awesome MIC podcaster community who come from across the world.
(yep it says Manchester, that’s where we’re based – it won’t let us put EVERYWHERE!)
Our monthly events are online, and we (aim to!) host quarterly in-person meetups too, what we like to call our ‘socials’.
We also have a special podcaster guest most months to give their expert take on a chosen podcasty subject. To date, we’ve had talks from chart-topping and award-winning podcasters about shortform podcasting, rating and reviews and remote recording.
Our guests have included Arielle Nissenblatt, podcasting legend, Olly Mann, Brown Girls Do It Too podcast, Obsessed with Line of Duty podcast producers, BBC Sounds Commissioner Louise Kattenhorn, Dan Maudsley (BBC: Paradise), The VO Social podcast, Clare Freeman (ASFB Productions: Slimming World Podcast…), Kate Cocker (The Presenter Coach: Everyday Positivity), Alex Bennett (Lower Street Media, Art of Podcast), Guy Kilty (DipDap productions, BBC 5Live: The Price of Football), Sam Walker (BBC, Desert Diaries, Northern Power Women), Emma Goswell (Gaydio, Coming Out Stories), Mark Asquith (Captivate, Rebel Base Media), Amy Woods (Content x10), Ant McGinley (XS Manchester, On The Left Side).”
All Hear is a free monthly newsletter featuring audio opportunities with upcoming deadlines from across the industry and around the world — grants, residencies, awards, calls for pitches and events spanning journalism, podcasting, radio, audio drama, oral history, sound art and more. It’s written by Talia Augustidis in collaboration with Transom.org.