ABOUT US

 

Young Norfolk Arts is a charitable organisation that provides opportunities for children and young people to create and engage with creativity and culture across Norfolk. What started as the Young Norfolk Arts Partnership between local organisations committed to providing creative opportunities to young people has developed into charitable organisation the Young Norfolk Arts Trust. The Trust champions the rich cultural and artistic heritage of Norfolk and works to ensure that local young people are presented with a multitude of ways to explore it in a way that enriches education and enhances aspirations.

For 10 days every July, we hold the Young Norfolk Arts Festival (YNAF) – a celebration of creativity and performance by and for young people in Norfolk.

The YNA Collective engages and provides support to young people aged 16 – 25 years old. Through regular meetings, training sessions, practical hands on workshops and collaborative sessions with our partners, the Collective develop skills to enable them to produce, promote and evaluate events and exhibitions with Young Norfolk Arts.

Young Norfolk Visual Arts is a year-round programme of creative workshops and exhibition for children and young people of all ages. The shape of YNVA changes every year, in 2019 we offered free outreach workshops with primary schools, animation workshops through Norfolk libraries and an exhibition at The Forum.

Click here to read our 2020 report

Contact Us

YNA Festival

Find out more here

YNA Collective

Find out more here

Sign up to our newsletter!

Click here to subscribe

SUPPORT US

Young Norfolk Arts Trust is a charity which uses all its income to provide life changing opportunities for young people across Norfolk. Every project and activity is offered to children and young people for free, including our yearly festival programme. Support us by donating what you can…

DONATE

MEET THE TEAM

Lucy Farrant | Director

Lucy put together the inaugural YNAF programme in 2013 and became Director in 2014. Her hard work and determination has expanded Young Norfolk Arts from a small project to an incorporated charitable trust, running year-round activities. Lucy is also an independent creative producer, working on theatre projects across the UK, as well as coordinating True Stories Live and Balloon debates.

Email Lucy

Roxanne Matthews | YNVA Coordinator

Roxanne is an art historian and creative learning specialist. She has been designing and delivering learning programmes for 12 years, working with partners like the Wallace Collection, Norfolk Museum & Archaeology and Library & Information Services, National Centre for Writing. She supports YNA’s visual arts and partnership projects, and leads on our schools consultancy; supporting schools to enhance the curriculum with creativity.
Email Roxanne

Milly Kirby | Producer

Milly started with YNA in 2019. Since graduating from Norwich University of the Arts she has worked at Cinema City Education and Norfolk & Norwich Festival. She is a freelance musician, events coordinator and facilitator working with organisations like the British Film Institute and Creative Arts East, and is Director of creative education charity Reel Connections.
Email Milly

Helen Mian | Finance Officer

Helen joined us in 2019 and works freelance overseeing budgets and finances for the Young Norfolk Arts Trust. She has also worked as Head of Finance at Norfolk & Norwich Festival.

Email Helen

Jade Anderson | YNA Collective Coordinator

Jade joined us in early 2020 as administrator for the YNA Collective, moving into the role of coordinating the programme in January 2021. She is also a visual artist, curator and facilitator who graduated from Norwich University Of The Arts. In her work she looks at the nature of language and the idea of the Artists studio. She has worked for EAST Gallery, Firstsite and has participated in First Light Festival.

Email Jade

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Steffan Griffiths | Chair

Steffan Griffiths joined Norwich School in September 2011 and has since introduced initiatives such as the Young Norfolk Arts Festival and Young Norfolk Sports Academy. After reading Classics at University College, Oxford, he taught at Tonbridge School (1995-1999) and Eton College (1999-2006). In 2006, he was appointed to the role of Usher (principal deputy head) at Magdalen College School, Oxford. Steffan also holds a first-class honours English Literature degree from the Open University. During his school years at Whitgift School, he acted with the National Theatre, both on the South Bank and in European tours. He maintains an active interest and involvement in drama.

Naomi Palmer

Naomi is Principal at Ormiston Victory Academy in Costessey, which serves 11 to 19 year olds. She also supports Ormiston Academies Trust nationally in running competitive scholarship programmes for students to access independent schools for their sixth form studies. Naomi is proud to lead developments in Ormiston East in the Arts, such as the regional art exhibition of students’ work.

Gerard Stamp

Gerard Stamp (born 1955) went to school under the shadow of Norwich Cathedral, where he developed a passion for drawing and painting architecture. After Art College Gerard followed a career in London’s Design and Advertising industry before focusing full time on painting in 2002.

He has since held many solo exhibitions nationwide. His work is in public collections including Norwich Castle Art Gallery and East Contemporary Art (UCS), private collections around the World, and the Royal Collection.

Nina Nannar

Nina is the Arts Editor of ITV News which she joined in 2002 from the BBC. The job involves specialist arts and media coverage for ITV, including covering the Oscars every year and interviewing the biggest names in film, music and TV. She is also a regular contributor to ITV programmes on entertainment, and popular culture.

Nina started out at the BBC as a trainee, then working on regional and national television and radio, including presenting Asian Perspective for 3 years, a live news and current affairs programme on BBC Radio Five Live. In 2007 Nina was awarded an Honorary doctorate for Services to the Media.

She is an Ambassador for the Prince’s Trust, chairing events for the charity, and for the British Asian Trust. and is a Governor of Norwich University of the Arts.

Nina is also a Trustee of the National Centre for Writing, and patron of the domestic abuse charity Leeway.

Lewis Buxton

Lewis Buxton is a poet, producer & workshop leader. Coming from a family of teachers, his work is concerned with fathers and sons, how we learn gender roles, and how young men’s image of their bodies fit into the modern world. His poems have appeared in Ambit Magazine, Oxford Poetry and Ink, Sweat and Tears. In 2017 he was shortlisted for the Oxford Brookes International Poetry Prize, judged by Helen Mort. He has headlined stages at The Roundhouse, The Olympic Park, The Royal Festival Hall and the Norwich Arts Centre.
 
Lewis is the director and co-founder of TOAST Poetry, an organisation dedicated to the professional development of poets. He teaches creative writing in schools, libraries and universities around the country. In 2017 he was one of The Poetry School’s Mixed Borders Poets and was poet-in-residence at Alexandra Road Park in London.

Vivica Parsons

From the award winning documentary department at Central Television where she produced factual programmes for ITV on “Network First”, to her own highly successful production company Imago Productions which she ran for twelve years, Vivica has produced and directed many hours of ground breaking programmes. Some of these have been co-produced with international broadcasters and many have won national and international awards. She excels in the art of storytelling through passionate strong characters and many of her films have changed legislation or changed opinion about international issues. Vivica also uses stills photography to deepen the reach of her stories.

Rachel Quick

Rachel is currently the Principal of The Wherry School in Norwich, following a career in Norfolk Primary, Middle and all through schools. Throughout her career she has sought to promote the Arts with pupils, seeking opportunities to visit galleries, work with artists, embedding art, the history of art, dance, music and drama into the curriculum. Her own passion and interest in Arts Education stems from my own early education in drama, dance, art, going on to complete a BA in History of Art at Warwick University.

Rachel came to Norfolk to continue studying at UEA, completing an MA at the Sainsbury Centre and further postgraduate studies at UEA, researching the use of visual art to promote learning amongst primary aged pupils. She continues to be inspired by the pupils she works with, and how Arts Education can make such a positive impact on mental health, anxiety management and regulation, as well as providing excitement and challenge.