The 2024 programme
This year we worked with our largest cohort yet – across the programme young collaborators worked with 18 festival organisers to infuse events with their enthusiasm and creativity. They put a fresh spin on popular daytime events by creating multisensory exhibitions, alternative walking tours, interactive art trails, spooky scavenger hunts and themed escape rooms.
We also saw that evening and ‘After Hours’ events continued to be popular, with organisers offering exclusive exhibition previews, silent discos, and pop-up board game nights to attract younger audiences.
Adding to a collaborative mural at FleeceFest. (© Jya Raine Photography)
Getting young people involved
A key aspect of this programme is co-creating with young people to ensure they are represented and included in the festival. Almost 100 young people got involved as active decision makers in 2024, helping to plan events across 18 sites. Their feedback shows the value of taking part in a programme like New Wave:
- 100% felt like their volunteering made a real difference
- 100% would like to continue volunteering in the heritage sector
- 85% have a better understanding of how the sector works and would like to continue working or volunteering in heritage
- Over half are now considering a career in heritage
It's a really great thing to be a part of! Offering young people not just an event to help them interact with heritage but the experience to work behind the scenes is so important in having voices heard, which I felt incredibly strongly that we were. It also gives really valuable work experience and insight into careers in a way that felt very accessible.
Participant impact
Equally for sites involved, the benefit of working with young people in a collaborative way, connecting with heritage organisations from across the country, and being part of a structured training programme is clear:
- 100% enjoyed their time on the New Wave programme
- 100% agreed that they enjoyed working with Young Adults
- 87% thought their work was innovative and pushed the boundaries of the usual work their organisation does
- 87% agreed that being involved allowed them to step away from their ‘normal’ day-to-day and think differently
Visitor impact
Over 2,200 visitors attended a New Wave event. Visitor comments show that audiences enjoyed having a go at new activities and having a variety of things to try. Here are some examples from the programme:
Tyntesfield (National Trust)
This after hours event was a hit with visitors who enjoyed the range of activities on offer, including trying mocktails and flower arranging, as well as the calming atmosphere of an after hours event.
The Roman Baths
Visitors at The Roman Baths’ Clore Learning Space enjoyed the chance to see areas not normally accessible during a Roman Baths visit, along with the adult only aspect of the event, and having something to create and take away.
What’s next?
In 2025 we’re doing things a bit differently to give us space to fundraise and grow New Wave. We won't be running our usual training programme, instead we’ll be focusing on:
- Publishing resources for the whole community to use
- Connecting with previous participants
- Redeveloping our programme to maximise impact and increase the number of young people involved in the festival as organisers and visitors.
A big thank you
A huge thank you to everyone who took part in this year’s New Wave programme and creating such brilliant events. Whether by volunteering, joining the cohort, visiting an event, or guest speaking at one of our training days – THANK YOU for being part of this special project!
Find out more
- Impact report - Download a summary of our findings and a full list of 2024 New Wave events
- Crewe Lyceum Theatre - Read an in-depth case study from one of this year's participants
- New Wave - Learn more about our New Wave programme
- Get Involved - Feeling inspired? Why not join the community?