Living your dreams at Alt Valley Creative in Liverpool

Alt Valley Community Trust, based in north east Liverpool, aims to help communities to reach their full potential and lead happy, healthy, and fulfilled lives. Alongside supporting adults, Alt Valley provides vital support to young people via dedicated youth hubs across the region. The Youth Investment Fund is transforming Alt Valley’s youth services across five centres in Liverpool, including the Communiversity, Alt Valley Skills Centre and the VNC Millennium Centre.

Alt Valley believes in bridging the gaps in arts provision and opportunity. They harness the power of creativity to inspire, educate, and uplift and offer a programme of activities for all types of creative interests and aspirations. From the stage to the screen, from music to film, from writing to photography, their sessions cater to individuals of all backgrounds and skill levels.

Heyday UK spent a day talking to young people at Alt Valley’s VNC Millennium Centre to create a new film and shine a light on its new renovated centre, funded by the Youth Investment Fund.

In the film, you will meet some of the young people who love Alt Valley. Young people talk about their long-term ambitions, including being an actor, author, dancer, or famous singer. Alt Valley encourages young people to explore their passions and creative spirit.  Young people talk about the difference Alt Valley makes to their lives.

“I’ve always wanted to go to dance. I love being able to dance, but there’s nowhere open and it’s expensive, but this is for free, and I go here every Tuesday and Friday.”

“It [Alt Valley] brings the community together.”

“It distracts my mind. It gets me away from screen time.”

“It makes me feel safe, and makes me feel happy, and you get to meet mates and get to mix with different people from different schools.”

“And places like this will keep them from off the streets, doing things that are better for kids our age and making the right choices and just living, so you can just start a new talent at a young age, so you can achieve your dreams.”

Judy McClean, Creative Development Manager for Alt Valley explains the ethos of the centre. Around 40 young people join every session, and the sessions are for young people at all stages of creative development, and they cater for everyone’s needs. Alongside delivering engaging creative sessions they also want to create routes into industry, by working with local casting agents, theatres and the Arts Council. The team have worked with young people to shape the new centre’s programme, based on their dreams and ambitions.

Judy says,

“Because we are at the very beginning of this development, we’re sort of finding our own way. We want to do something that’s lasting and sustainable. We want to build a real solid framework that exists across the centres because the ultimate aim for Alt Valley is to create like an Academy style approach, like the Brits of the North, where all these creative elements are mixing together and all the ideas are coming out.”