Sadly, many young people aren’t exposed to cultural spaces as children and grow up believing that they don’t belong there. Their fear of not fitting in is hardly surprising, considering the cultural elitism of the arts world, which is overwhelmingly white and middle-class.

The idea for the Critic’s Club was born out of my time spent working in a South London Academy School.

I saw first-hand how students did not see the cultural spaces that surrounded them as places for people like them; despite their school being walking distance from some of London’s most famous cultural institutions, students felt intimidated to step foot inside, assuming that specific knowledge was required to enter and be accepted in such spaces.

Cuts to the arts have left them undervalued and underfunded. Therefore, those young people who are not encouraged nor cannot afford to engage outside of school are already missing out on vital learning opportunities.

Teaching is also strictly curriculum-focused. Young people aren’t given the space to think critically; they’re not encouraged to formulate their own opinions; they’re not taught to express themselves authentically.

The Critics’ Club is a cultural programme empowering young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds to engage with theatre and art.

The programme has four stages:

1. Young people attend an exciting play or exhibition as Critics

2. They complete the Critics’ Club guide, focusing on their thoughts, feelings and reactions to what they have seen

3. Afterwards, the young critics participate in a group workshop in which they discuss, debate and develop their ideas further

4. Finally, each critic writes a short personal review of their experience which is published on the website! Have a read of current reviews here: www.criticsclub.org and follow Twitter: https://twitter.com/critics_club

Over the last 10 months I have invested hours of time and energy to research, test and develop prototypes of the Critics' Club. I now wish to officially launch a full 8-week pilot programme, and just need a little help to get started.

I’m looking to raise a cash injection to help cover start-up costs, as well as enabling me to deliver my first subsidised pilot programme with a school in the coming academic year. Any money raised will go towards covering programme costs including ticket costs, travel expenses, and workshop preparation and facilitation costs.

So far, I have been running the Critics' Club, independently and for free, without making any profit. I wish to now charge schools a subsidised rate to participate in full 8-week programmes to allow me to continue evaluating and developing the programme's social impact with other groups of young people.

I am on a mission to ensure that every young person, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to enjoy the richness that engaging with the arts can culture can bring.

A little goes a long way, so anything you can give to help would be much appreciated!

With gratitude,

Yasmin