ABOUT US

SMART exists to ensure that young people in Suffolk have access to arts opportunities to enrich their lives. We provide essential funding to help Suffolk’s young people access high-quality music and arts opportunities. We raise these funds by bringing together the skills, passion and experience of our supporters and alumni.

We strongly believe that all young people should have access to artistic opportunities, regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, class, disability, religious beliefs, race or ethnicity: you can read our diversity & inclusion statement here.

Established in 2018 as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation in 2018, our journey began with a celebratory concert featuring 74 alumni and members of Suffolk Youth Music, honouring Philip Shaw’s retirement as Head of Suffolk's County Music Service.

Our roots are in music, growing out of our close links with the Suffolk County Music Service, and we proudly embrace all forms of arts.

We are a volunteer-led organisation governed by a dedicated Board of Trustees located across Suffolk, the UK and Finland. Our trustees have a range of expertise in education and the creative industries, and are united by their connections to Suffolk. Our current board consists of 10 elected trustees, 2 nominated trustees, and 2 youth trustees. We are currently recruiting for new trustees - find out more here.

We have built our funds through a variety of events and member-driven fundraising initiatives: one highlight was playing at Latitude Festival with an orchestra made up of our members.

Since our inception in in 2018, SMART has:

supported nearly 100 talented and committed young people in their creative journeys, and

awarded over £55,000 in grants and scholarships.

We have a strong pipeline of grant applicants in need of support (we had applications seeking £60,000 in grants during 2024/25). Our focus is now on growing our funds and our membership to enable us to support more of Suffolk’s young people across a wide range of arts opportunities.