Creative Lives is a registered charity that was established in 1991. We champion community and volunteer-led creative activity, and work to improve opportunities for everyone to be creative. In particular, we celebrate and promote people expressing themselves creatively with others, recognising the benefits this can bring.

We know that creative expression in all its forms is a fundamental part of being human, but that individuals and communities need opportunities and support for creativity to flourish. We also know that people coming together to create, have fun, share experiences and support each other can have a positive impact on both their physical and emotional wellbeing.

To that end, Creative Lives works with communities, organisations, policy-makers, funders and creative individuals as a voice for positive change, to improve and expand the landscape in which creative participation can take place. We work to address inequalities in access to creative participation, promote inclusivity, connect people and communities, and seek to increase awareness of the links between creativity and wellbeing.

We do this on a local and national level through advocacy, development and celebrating the activities of creative people, groups and places through the Creative Lives Awards, Creative Lives On Air, Get Creative Festival, our Creative Networks and Creative Learning sessions and a diverse range of creative projects.

We have teams based across the UK and Ireland, and are funded by Arts Council England, the Arts Council of Ireland, Creative Scotland and the Arts Council of Wales.

Watch this short video below to learn more about how we support and champion everyday creativity:

You can also learn more in our short document summarising the Creative Lives Strategic Framework.

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Our Purpose

To celebrate, encourage and champion people expressing themselves creatively in their everyday lives and practising their creativity socially with other people.

The fact that so many people have, for so many years, chosen to spend their time undertaking creative cultural activity means that it is self-evidently valuable.

Voluntarily doing creative cultural activity is not just a nice thing to do, it is the key to a happy human life.

- Martyn Evans, Chief Executive, Carnegie (UK) Trust, July 2018

Our Strategic Priorities

1. Building strong connections and relationships to support participation in creative cultural activity

• We are leading a movement, in which people, groups, organisations and networks involved in everyday creativity come together, along with government and policy-makers, to connect, share and learn from one another.
• We will use our connections to develop a variety of self-sustaining networks to support creative cultural activity.
• Intended outcome: a more supportive environment for creative cultural activity.

2. Demonstrating how taking part in creative cultural activity improves social connectedness

• We are developing projects and gathering evidence to show that regular creative practice with others can reduce loneliness and isolation.
• We will share case studies and research to persuade the general public that taking part in creative cultural activity can decrease loneliness and increase wellbeing.
• Intended outcome: a deeper public understanding of how and why being creative with other people can decrease loneliness and increase wellbeing.

3. Opening up more public spaces for creative cultural activity

• We are working with others to protect and promote civic spaces (arts venues, community centres, parks, libraries) for creative activity, by providing information and guidance, sharing innovative examples, and connecting the people who need a place to be creative with those who own/run them.
• We will share models of innovative use of public spaces for creative cultural activity.
• Intended outcome: available space is well-used and people looking for a suitable place to be creative feel connected and informed.

Our Values

The following values inform all our activities:

• We value creative groups whose activities are shaped and directed by the people who take part in them.
• We value situations where everyone is treated equally and feels included, and are actively working to increase opportunities for people to be creative.
• We value the pooling of knowledge, skills, contacts, venues and equipment to enhance creative cultural activity, for the common good.

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More information about Creative Lives can be found in our 'Governance Handbook' and appendices, our Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association. The latest Annual Accounts from Creative Lives are also available.