Funded by the Max Reinhardt Charitable Trust, MaxLiteracy is an exciting initiative that develops new ways of teaching creative writing by bringing together writers, schools, galleries, art museums and visual arts organisations. Funding from the Awards will allow each of the three organisations to employ a creative writer to work with a local school.

Using their own collections, displays, or buildings for inspiration, our three winners will enable one of their local schools to work with a creative writer and on a creative writing or literacy project. Through the reach of Take A Part, Meadow Arts and Nottingham Contemporary, the programme will cover local areas in Plymouth, Shropshire and East Midlands.

The activities will lead to the development of a new resource for each organisation, designed to encourage engagement with the organisation through creative writing. These will be widely shared within the arts and education sectors to encourage the greater use of galleries, art museums and visual arts organisations by schools for creative writing and literacy work.

The Awards are run in partnership by Engage, the National Association for Gallery Education and the National Association for Writers in Education (NAWE).

'The Max Literacy project provides a brilliant opportunity for writers to refresh their practice, learn new skills and develop partnerships with visual arts educators. The National Association for Writers in Education is delighted to be a partner in this programme. The projects taking place this year include some mentoring opportunities for the first time for emerging writers, which will create a great legacy for the work that will be produced. We look forward to sharing the resources with the wider writing in education community.' Dr Anne Caldwell – Board Director, NAWE.

'From supporting young people’s mental health during Covid to exploring practices and pedagogies of engagement and providing placement opportunities for emergent younger writers, the MaxLiteracy programme continues to inspire young people’s creative writing through the visual arts. With an exemplary cohort of MaxLiteracy 2023-24 Awardees: Meadow Arts, Nottingham Contemporary and Take A Part, we are excited for what will be an incredible programme of reflexive learning for all.' MaxLiteracy Programme Coordinator, Engage

'The Max Reinhardt Charitable Trust is delighted to have found 3 dynamic partner organisations who will bring renewed inspiration to the legacy of MaxLiteracy. The projects for 2024 promise to forge new ways of enhancing literacy and storytelling skills and improving the confidence of children and young people. We are particularly delighted that young emerging writers will also get the chance to learn the specific skills required to work in school environments with our new mentoring scheme.' Veronica Reinhardt – Trustee of the Max Reinhardt Charitable Trust

'Engage is delighted to be working with the Max Reinhardt Charitable Trust on MaxLiteracy. It is brilliant to be partnering with The National Association for Writers in Education once more and to be working with three inspiring hosts. We’re excited to be exploring writing about the visual arts with young people and creative writers, including those early in their careers. We’re looking forward to sharing what is learnt through the MaxLiteracy more widely.' Jane Sillis – Director of Engage.

Image credit: Education partner workshop in the gallery, 2023. Courtesy
Nottingham Contemporary. Photo: Catherine Masters | Dom Moore for Take A Part | Hilary Jack Deluge (2023) A Meadow Arts Commission for Watermark, displayed at The Hive, Worcester from January to June 2023. Photography by Tegen Kimbley.