Leaveners - 0121 414 0099

Leaveners is a community arts organisation that offers a unique, high quality programme of arts-based workshops, projects and activities.

Leaveners work in a variety of settings, alongside diverse members of the community, including adults, children and young people. Through participatory art activities such as drama, music, performance, dance and the visual arts, we deliver art activities in Friends Houses, schools, youth clubs and art centres. Often working in collaboration with partner organisations, we strive to create opportunities for interaction with diverse communities.

Based in Birmingham, we work throughout the UK and regionally to explore how the arts can raise awareness of issues such as global justice, inequality, non-violence and spirituality. Our projects and workshops continue to be delivered by our core team and a wide network of arts facilitators and volunteers.

Leaveners began as the Quaker Youth Theatre (QYT) in 1978 running summer and Christmas projects for young Quakers. These were primarily musical theatre productions written by founders Tony Biggin, and Leaveners President Alec Davison and other talented writers and composers. Under their artistic vision the organisation created over 30 performances of street theatre, youth theatre, orchestral and choral performances and toured them to international audiences in Russia, Cuba, Romania, The Netherlands, Northern Ireland and throughout the UK.

Many different productions explored topics around peace; (The Gates of Greenham at Royal Festival Hall and Britain Yearly Meeting 1985, 2015) social justice; (The Banners and the Blackshirts 1994, 1995) and the environment; (Cry of the Earth, Royal Festival Hall 1990).

Throughout its history Leaveners has taken the lead in developing ground-breaking and socially engaged arts projects, including working with unemployed, imprisoned and deaf young people.

Leaveners Experiments in Arts for Peace (LEAP) started in 1985 to work with unemployed and homeless young people to help them deal with conflict through theatre projects in schools and prisons. This eventually developed into the independent organisation LEAP Confronting Conflict.

In 1996 Leaveners also produced theatre with deaf and hearing young people. In 2008, building on the project’s success, ‘Words Signs and Vibes’ developed into an independent organisation.

Until late 1986 Leaveners was a voluntary project, but a grant from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, and the Department for Education and Skills, allowed the organisation to evolve and include a core team of staff.

Leaveners exist as a community arts organisation using Quaker values and artistic practice to engage with communities encouraging a greater understanding and involvement in social issues that are contemporarily relevant today.

You can support Leaveners by donating directly to the charity. You can send donations via cheque directly to Leaveners, 605F, The Big Peg, 120 Vyse St, b18 6NF Birmingham, United Kingdom

Tags: Community Organization,Youth Organization,Organization