During the February half term, MakerWorld was a space for young people to come together and ask some big questions.
As part of OffScript: Youth Power Week, delivered in partnership with Chol Theatre and made possible through support from Arts Council England, young people took part in a series of creative workshops. The groups explored filmmaking with Studio Bokehgo, sculpture with artist Mick Kirkby-Geddes and a behind-the-scenes tour of Lawrence Batley Theatre.
During the week Chol ran This Stage Is Ours, a week-long creative project exploring power, voice and what it means to grow up in a world that can feel overwhelming.
Over several days the small group of young people came together to talk, write, debate, research and make work together. The conversations ranged widely – from social media and misinformation to protest movements, global conflict and the constant stream of headlines shaping how we understand the world. The result – Sentience: What If Things Could Change? was a short spoken-word performance combining poetry, projection and collective writing. The performance explored what it means to live in a world where people are often reduced to headlines, numbers or narratives and what happens when we stop long enough to recognise the human stories behind them.
The piece was shared at MakerWorld Gallery during the OffScript celebration event – a night of music, poetry and creative activity celebrating the creativity already alive in Huddersfield. And it was a real reminder that, in the words of Chol’s Jess Woodhead, “young people aren’t just audiences or participants in culture – they are organisers, thinkers and producers.”
If we want a thriving creative future in places like Huddersfield and across Kirklees, we need to recognise and support that reality, One of the biggest barriers young people face when entering the arts is access and the Young Producers leading OffScript were paid for their time and expertise, thanks to Arts Council England NPO Funding, recognising the value they bring to the work and making the opportunity genuinely accessible. The week raised bigger questions about what comes next. Huddersfield has always been a town of ideas, creativity and collective action and weeks like OffScript remind us that the next generation is ready to carry that forward.