Z-arts is the UK’s only arts centre dedicated to offering best-practice in creative provision for children and families. Our mission: to inspire and enable generations of young people from Greater Manchester and the North West to use creativity to maximise their potential.
We engage with tens of thousands of people annually in outreach programmes with local communities, schools and college groups, international touring theatre shows and with superb on-site facilities including: 230-seat theatre, studio theatre, gallery, cafe bar, recording studio, music space & dance studio.
Our building is our arts and theatre hub, where theatre shows take place and where there are plenty of dance, drama and arts and crafts activities to get stuck into.
Our theatre has 230 seats, and we have shows for different ages each season. We also run weekly participatory classes in all art forms for children aged 0-13 years. These can take place in our gallery, music room, dance studio or one of our other various activity rooms.
Creative learning and education are at the heart of what we do. We work closely with schools and education practitioners to bring learning to life with the arts.
An ACE NPO Band 2 we are strategically funded by Manchester City Council to lead in best practice for creative engagement for children, young people and families, which we do by taking a leadership in role in a variety of networks:
Big Imaginations, a network of 22 venues in the North West and Yorkshire, who share a commitment to bringing brilliant touring children’s theatre to the region.
MADE , a collaboration between arts, education and youth organisations across the city which creates meaningful cultural learning experiences to ensure all children and young people have the creative ability to flourish
Manchester Family Arts Network, an initiative of the Family Arts Campaign. Manchester’s Family Arts Network is a group of venues and organisations from across Manchester that are collaborating to ensure that all Manchester families can get involved in creative events and activities.
Z-arts is a place to express yourself, to celebrate your imagination, to have fun, be entertained and dream big! So, whatever your age and whether you’re coming to see a show or make some amazing mini-masterpieces in one of our arts workshops, we hope you enjoy your visit to Z-arts and are inspired by your own creativity.
We believe that theatre and the arts are for everyone! They are inspiring, immersive and magical, and we want to share the joy of creativity, imagination and storytelling with children and families in Greater Manchester and beyond.
Our Funders
