Youth Advisory Group

Now recruiting for 2026/27

Wac Arts’ mission is to nurture children and young people’s creativity. In doing so, it is essential that young people are not just the recipient of the charity’s actions but are also a part of the process of decision making that impacts them. The Wac Arts Youth Advisory Group is an independent body of eight young people that comprises young artists, facilitators, participants and community representatives. The groups’ inputs shall ensure that decisions taken by Wac Arts are truly for, with and by the community it works with.

Our current Youth advisory Group

Ruby iverson

Ruby is a passionate young artist and advocate for the creative arts, bringing a fresh perspective to the advisory board of Wac Arts. As an alumni of Wac Arts, she credits the organization for igniting her love for performance and providing her with the tools and resources to pursue a career in the arts.

She is currently a student at the University of Cambridge studying modern languages with a specialism in European Film and Visual Arts. Ruby has stage theatre credits in the wider Cambridgeshire area in backstage theatre, directing, acting and producing and is passionate about working on theatre projects that help to amplify minority voices. She has also completed projects with New Earth Theatre and worked with the BFI and Crouch End Art house as a young programmer, and will also be hosting and convening a film festival at the Sheffield Showroom Cinema next year. Ruby also has been a judge for the Watersprite Film Festival for the past two years and sits on the exec board of a student film funding body in Cambridge.
Ruby’s commitment to using art as a tool for social change and her unwavering dedication to the mission of Wac Arts means she is very excited and honoured to be a member of the advisory board, hopefully inspiring the next generation of artists and advocates to dream big and create change through creativity.

lara may

Lara is a British theatre-maker with her practice focused on writing, dramaturgy and performance. She has taken part in the intergenerational writing project at WAC Arts and is interested in stories from the real to the wondrous. With accessible art for young people being a campaign close to her heart, she is enthused to be a part of the Youth Advisory Group.

Lucie Long

Lucie Long is a Franco-British writer and theatre maker. Her work focuses on queer storytelling, food, and collective forms of remembering. She is Polka Theatre’s Community Assistant, and was one of the Almeida theatre’s Young Producers. She runs a writing collective at SET Peckham, creating stories within the community.

Anayis N. Der Hakopian

Anayis is a Visual Storyteller and Creative Producer, crafting a variety of peculiar moving worlds and folkish words within animation, mythopoetics and the performing arts. Whilst building between realms, she facilitates, teaches and hosts spaces that work to bridge a divergence of community voices, expanding connection through imaginative thought and seeing. Outside of glaring screens and black box studios, Anayis can be found writing poetry in the park whilst being mobbed by muddy dogs.

Demera Giles

Demera Giles is an Actor, Poet, and Politics graduate from the University of Surrey. She has taken part in a number of Wac Arts project including Intergenerational Writing and Singing and Songwriting. As a facilitator Demera has led youth empowerment classes for African/Caribbean girls, with Bloss.m Scholars and worked with Wac Arts and Write2Speak to deliver spoken word workshops in local primary schools.

want to be a part of our next group?

Wac Arts is looking for young people aged 16 – 24 to join our Youth Advisory Group for one year from September 2026.

The group meets on the second Wednesday of every month, and meetings will alternate between online 5:00 – 6:30pm and in-person at Wac Arts 6:00 – 7:30pm.

Youth Advisory Group members will work closely with the Wac Arts team to:

Assess, endorse, or influence the arts programme and the creative output of the organisation.
Provide constructive feedback on the charity’s communication, branding and design, and how it speaks to them.
Provide fresh ideas that are creative, inspired, and ambitious.
Provide the board with constructive feedback and key insights, ensuring decision making and governance is informed, with youth voices represented at all levels.
Influence and support recruitment through joining interview panels and meeting candidates, where required.

Youth Advisory Group members will have opportunities to:

Build on their leadership, decision making and networking skills.
Bring their own creative ideas and thoughts for the organisation.
Develop their understanding of leadership and governance within the arts and charity sectors.
Represent Wac Arts at both internal events and external Youth-led events, forums and other
relevant opportunities

Youth Advisory Group members will receive:

A payment of £30 for attending in-person meetings
Access to studio and workspaces
Free tickets to Wac Arts events and ticket deals at venues across London
Reimbursement for costs to travel, childcare, events, relevant training or any other expenses
borne by members in their capacity as Youth Advisory Group members.

Please complete this short form to express your interest in joining our Youth Advisory Group by Wednesday 19th August.

Once we have gathered and reviewed the expression of interest forms, we hope to invite several young people to join us for an informal meeting with current members of the Youth Advisory Group to discuss your interest further.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our Schools and Communities team – communities@wacarts.co.uk