In 2004, TiPP was invited to collaborate in the development of one of the first Arts Enrichment Programmes.  The Arts Enrichment Programmes were a product of the strategic relationship between Arts Council England and the Youth Justice Board, and aimed to blend participatory arts practice with literacy and numeracy teaching.   These programmes went on to form the backbone of the immensely successful Summer Arts College initiative, developed and managed by Unitas.

Summer Arts Colleges are three week long, full time arts projects for young people considered to be at high risk of re-offending.  Each College is a partnership between a local Youth Offending Service and a team of experienced participatory artists. TiPP played a central role in the development of the Arts College model, piloting one of the first Colleges in West Manchester in 2007 and acting as artistic consultants to Unitas through the projects formative years and national roll-out.  You can read more about the programme here.

Between 2007 and 2022, TiPP delivered 34 Arts Colleges, working with Youth Offending Teams in Manchester, Salford, Tameside, Blackpool, Wrexham, Trafford, Liverpool, and Knowsley.  In addition, TiPP's Director has visited Colleges the length and breadth of England and Wales, providing support and advice and working as an arts quality assessor for Unitas.

Summer 2019: Knife Crime Sculpture

In 2019 we delivered colleges in Sheffield, Oldham, Stockport and in Barton Moss Secure Care Centre. The Youth Offending Teams in Oldham and Stockport asked us to work on the theme of knife crime. Taking our inspiration from The Knife Angel the young people worked with a welder and sculptor to design sculptures out of knives that had been confiscated by the police.

You can see the results in the images to the above. After watching Stormzy perform in a Banksy designed stab vest at Glastonbury, we asked the police if we could have half a dozen decommissioned stab vests that were repurposed as pieces of art.

Summer 2020 - The Virtual College

The pandemic and lockdowns were not going to dissuade us from delivering a summer programme, and we developed a virtual project with Manchester Youth Justice Services. Artists worked on a one to one basis with young people delivering visual art, music and photography sessions, creating a series of music tracks and a Zine. Click on the pic picture below if you would like to see the Zine. You can listen to the music here.

Summer 2021

The Arts College in 2021 saw us back in action, face-to-face with young people. We were lucky enough to be able to base the project in Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre space, and participants had the opportunity to take part in music, visual arts, and design projects. We particularly liked the photography aspect of the College, as the young people documented some of their favourite street art in Manchester. You can see an example below, and find more in Project Gallery 3