About Prism Arts

Prism Arts was established in 1987 by a group of five artists committed to developing opportunities for people facing barriers to the arts.

For over 35 years Prism Arts has been delivering inclusive theatre and visual art workshops for people with learning disabilities and/ or autism. We are based in Carlisle but work throughout Cumbria.

Our goal is to develop and create diverse artists, who discover their voice and then develop the confidence to use it. We believe in progression and development of all our people through the arts.

Our Stories

 

Studio Programmes

Our studio programmes, youth workshops and projects are run by professional artists who work in partnership with the participants, facilitating them in all aspects of the creative process from research, to creating, to exhibiting or performing.

Over a year, Prism Arts runs 216 workshops which provide over 2,500 opportunities to adults and young people to release, explore and develop their creative talents. In 2022, over 45,000 people viewed our artist’s work in public exhibitions. 

We run four regular creative programmes in Carlisle for adults over the age of 18. You can find out more about each studio and how to join on our enrollment page:

Enroll

 

Youth Art Workshops

We also run art workshops for young people and school groups on a commissioned basis. If you’d like to know more about what we can offer, contact us:

Contact Us

 

Projects

We run many projects with partner organisations, such as Cumbria Wildlife Trust, University of Cumbria, Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Cumbria Museum of Military Life, as well as many schools throughout the county. These projects give us an opportunity to work with different groups of people exploring a particular subject.

We are one of the Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Funded Organisations.
“National Portfolio Organisations are leaders in their areas, with a collective responsibility to protect and develop our national arts and cultural ecology.” – Arts Council England

If you’d like to work with us for a project, check out our Commission Us page:

Commission Us