What is superact

Superact! started life in 2006 as a music development agency working with musicians, both amateur and professional, to bring music of all genres to communities across the UK.

We work in many different fields and with groups of people from a wide variety of backgrounds and abilities. Much of Superact!’s work is structured to help those within the healthcare, education and criminal justice systems.

Whether it is in a hospital, a youth centre, a school, a prison or a nursing home, our aim is always to promote live music in a manner that is most appropriate for the specific audience and encourage those with a lack of access to music to appreciate and benefit from it in their everyday lives.

More recently, our work has incorporated other art forms, such as storytelling and drama, which complement and enrich the musical approach.

In most of the areas in which we work, the arts can make a significant contribution to people’s lives: breaking down barriers, building self-esteem, promoting social inclusion and employability, and providing strong channels of expression and communication where previously they were not well established or perhaps did not exist at all.

Our activities are all ‘bespoke’ in the sense that they are designed and adapted according to the particular needs of the group we’re working with. From educational workshop to participatory storytelling or more traditional concert, this flexibility optimizes the relevance of what we provide and is one of Superact’s key success factors in working with very different audiences and environments.

European projects are another new development in Superact’s field of action: we are currently involved in a number of European multi-lateral projects, as part of a vibrant network of organisations cooperating in partnership programs, thereby contributing towards cultural diversity and opening our vision to a wider, European dimension.

Financially, Superact! has a ‘not for profit’ status so all monies are directed back to helping the communities it serves.



Latest News

Blowing trumpets

Superact! was delighted to receive a very positive evaluation into its recent ‘Music in Time’ project, especially given that the programme was put together in record time.

In particular, it is extremely encouraging for all involved to have a third party (the report was produced by The University of the West of England) assess their activities and be judged to have done a tough job so well, with the participants clearly gaining a real benefit from all their hard work.

If you’d like to read more, please click to download the full assessment.


Superact!’s international expansion has Canada on horizon.

At the recent EPEA (European Prison Education Association) conference, we were made aware that the majority of ‘arts in prison’ organizations were based in the UK. Attending delegates from North America did not seem to feel that this type of work was happening to any great degree in the USA or Canada. This information has influenced our decision to explore the possibilities of expanding our justice work to Canada. Our Project Director is Canadian and has experience with the creative sector there, which gives us a natural connection. We also hope to expand to the Netherlands through our partners on some existing European prison and dementia projects.

We hope that expanding our work internationally has the potential to broaden our funding base, supporting our core structure, and providing further employment. It also potentially opens up markets for artists involved in our work. Performers could use our community work as a stepping stone, and a way to fill out possible touring performances. An exchange of artistic talent could provide work in both countries. Partnerships with Canadian community arts groups could help expand our vision, and introduce new methods to our projects, and theirs.

With this in mind we have gained the support of UKTI in to assist us with doing dome market research in Canada and in the Netherlands. Our Project Director has been to Toronto and Ottawa in March of this year, and with the assistance of the UKTI Toronto office has been able to meet with many people in the Prison and Youth Justice community, and received a very positive response. She is planning a second trip later in the year to explore the possibilities in facilities for the care of the elderly. Looking out to the world around us can only increase Superact!’s horizons, creating new and exciting projects for our artists.



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