Metal is a unique, socially-engaged arts organisation bringing artists, residents, and people from the health, education, policy, tech, and environment sectors together to inspire change in places facing high levels of inequality and low levels of arts engagement.
Our work centres creative collaboration and pushes the boundaries of how artists and communities can lead change together – we’ve an established track record in delivering programmes with positive impact.
Making Positive Change Through Art and Creativity
Over the last 10 years, we’ve:
- worked deeply in Liverpool, Southend, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and Essex
- supported 11,000 socially-engaged artists
- hosted over 110,000 participants
- welcomed over 8 million audience members
- addressed complex challenges, including disrupting loneliness, improving wellbeing, and confronting inequality
- launched careers – our alumni include internationally recognised practitioners, local changemakers, and Turner Prize winners.
Our Impact Evaluation Framework
We are developing a bespoke impact evaluation framework to help us plan, monitor, and communicate the difference our work makes. This new approach launches alongside our 2024-2025 Pilot Impact Report and marks the first year of Metal’s new strategy, one that reimagines how artists and communities can lead meaningful, long-term change.
In 2024-25, we’ve:
- worked with 1,097 artists and creatives
- collaborated with 1,018 young people
- connected with 7,340 participants, and over 10,000 physical audiences
- paid £89K to artists
- offered over 100 opportunities through jobs and experience to freelancers, volunteers and work placements
We’re also proud that our programmes have produced results like a 400% increase in fun and joy, 79% of young participants felt they’d learned a new skill, 75% felt a stronger sense of belonging to their community, and a 67% felt their participation had a positive effect on their wellbeing. These figures are testament to our commitment to our values: to be fun, different, curious, responsive and domestic.
Read Our Full 2024-25 Impact Report:
