A new free project is inviting 15-18 year olds from across the city to make an original creative work for public display this summer.

The submissions, which will be created through a series of workshops across Bristol, will go on public display as part of THRESHOLDSs – a new, free, creative project from Boomsatsuma, the creative and digital skills education provider.

THRESHOLDS invites 15-18 year olds to choose a discipline – photography, film, visual art and design, or games and digital art – and join a workshop to make a piece of original work in response to a single brief, THRESHOLDS: the strange, in-between moment of no longer being who you were, and not yet who you’ll become.

The workshops will be led by creative professionals from across the disciplines, using industry-grade equipment and software, before their finished work is exhibited at a public event this summer.

According to the organisers, the project is deliberately seeking out the young people who wouldn’t usually sign up. Elliot Lamb, Head of Engagement and Development at Boomsatsuma comments,  “We’re actively looking for the people who’d never normally put themselves forward – different backgrounds, different parts of the city, people trying something for the first time. You don’t need experience, a portfolio, or even an idea to start. You need to be a bit curious to apply. The rest, we’ve got covered.”

The project comes at a moment of real opportunity for young creatives. A June 2026 assessment by Skills England and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport found the UK’s creative industries are projected to grow by 27% over the next decade. Yet the chances for young people to find a way in are narrowing: research commissioned by the Roundhouse this year found 91% of 18-30 year olds in the South West feel they have fewer in-person opportunities to connect, be creative and build confidence than previous generations.

THRESHOLDS is offered free of charge, with sessions in community venues across Bristol, deliberately reaching the young people for whom that door has rarely felt open.

“The work is genuinely theirs,” says Elliot. “We provide the kit, the space and the expertise – the idea, and the meaning, comes entirely from them. And it doesn’t end on a noticeboard or stuck to the fridge. It goes out to the city and beyond, where a stranger might stop at a photograph or a film and recognise something they’ve been feeling for years. That’s what we want for these young people.”

Taking part is free. Young people in Bristol can express interest and apply at boomsatsuma.com/thresholds – no experience needed and no idea needed to begin, that’s what the sessions provide. Places are limited; the deadline to sign up is Friday 17th July.

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