Ahead of his 60th birthday this Sunday 10th March, we wanted to celebrate our Patron HRH The Duke of Edinburgh’s visit to Manchester on Friday 23rd February.

During his visit to the Royal Exchange Theatre he took the time to talk to participants about their work and to watch a very special sharing from our Beswick Young Company.

After meeting several members of the Royal Exchange team, HRH met a small group of participants from the Chatty Crafts group in Beswick and took his seat to watch a fantastic performance from our Beswick Young Company alongside our supporters, project partners, participants, family and friends.

Our Beswick Young Company and Chatty Crafts are part of our exciting programme of activity for residents in Beswick, Openshaw and Clayton. Both groups have been running since 2022, providing opportunities for young people to access arts provisions and for our Local Exchange team to get to know the local community. The project so far has been supported by One Manchester.

As a registered charity no. 255424, the generous support of individuals, businesses and charitable trusts makes a huge difference to all of the work we do, allowing projects such as Beswick Young Company and Chatty Crafts to happen. These opportunities are hugely important for people to come together, gain confidence and be creative!

It was wonderful to be able to share a snapshot of our brilliant engagement programme with our Patron HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. We’re proud to have championed young people and the arts alongside HRH The Duke of Edinburgh over many years and wish His Royal Highness a very happy 60th birthday.