Urban Alchemy

Urban Alchemy is a celebration of street based culture, young people and imagination with a mission to positively reclaim outdoor space over the course of two years.

Mixing a number of detached youth work projects, North East Federation of Detached Youth Work and North East-based cultural organisations (Dance City, The Sage Gateshead and Northern Stage) it aims to create a lasting positive change in the way that cultural organisations and young people work together.

Young people from the following detached youth work projects will be involved in Urban Alchemy; The Gateshead Avenues Project (Bensham & Saltwell) Barley Mow Detached Project (Birtley) The Phoenix Project (Meadowell), Chopwell Youth Centre (Chopwell) Walker YMCA (Walker) Cramlington Youth Project (Cramlington) Longbenton Youth Project (Longbenton).

Through Urban Alchemy, these young people will be given the opportunity to develop and increase their creative skills and experience relating to urban art forms. Young people will increase their experience of team working and gain a greater understanding of the positive roles they can achieve.

Urban Alchemy presents a new approach to creative projects; taken out of the usual cultural/creative context of a venue and into a total street based context. Creativity on the streets about the streets, innovatively fusing street-based sports, art and culture.

The celebration events throughout and culmination at the end of the 24 month project, will be the first youth led street based celebration in the North East.

Urban Alchemy is part of NE-Generation and funded by Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity set up to create a lasting cultural and sporting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games across the UK.