Unlocking the Potential of Young Artists in Bolton: From Boss Your Future Graduate to Creative Leader
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Introducing Urban Futures Collective — a youth-led creative enterprise and pop-up shop turning artistic talent, lived experience and bold ideas into real opportunities.
By Sam Smith, Founder and Co-Director, Genuine Futures CIC
Talent is everywhere. Opportunity isn’t.
Across Bolton, there are young people with incredible artistic talents, creative ideas and entrepreneurial potential. Yet too many never get the opportunity to explore those abilities, develop their confidence or turn their creativity into something meaningful.
At Genuine Futures CIC, we believe that needs to change.
For the past eight months, we’ve been quietly developing something that I’m particularly proud of — Urban Futures Collective, a youth-led creative enterprise bringing together art, streetwear, storytelling and entrepreneurship.
At the heart of this journey is Paula Yates, a talented young artist who has graduated through our flagship Boss Your Future programme and is now taking the creative lead. Paula is also helping lead our Bolton NEET Taskforce, ensuring that young people’s lived experiences and voices influence the decisions that affect their futures.
Thanks to funding from Bolton’s Fund, managed by Bolton Community and Voluntary Services (Bolton CVS), we’re developing an Urban Futures Collective pop-up shop where young people can showcase their talents, gain practical business experience and explore opportunities to earn through their creativity.
This is about much more than merchandise. It’s about turning potential into opportunity.
From Boss Your Future Graduate to Creative Leader
Our flagship Boss Your Future programme supports young people aged 15–24 in Bolton who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). We work with young people who may have experienced barriers such as school exclusion, unemployment, care, homelessness or a lack of confidence.
But we don’t start by asking what’s wrong with them. We start by asking what they’re good at, what interests them and what they want their future to look like.
Paula’s journey demonstrates why that approach matters. Having experienced challenges associated with care and youth homelessness, Paula brings a perspective shaped by her own experiences. Art has become an important way for her to express herself, share her story and explore her creative abilities.
Having graduated through Boss Your Future, Paula is now helping lead the development of Urban Futures Collective. She’s bringing her artwork, ideas and imagination into a project that has the potential to create opportunities for other young people across Bolton.
Paula Yates — Boss Your Future Graduate, Creative Lead and Youth Ambassador:
“I’ve faced challenges that people don’t always see. Now I want my voice to help make things better for others.”
Those words capture what we’re trying to achieve through Genuine Futures. We’re not simply helping young people complete programmes. We’re supporting them to discover their strengths, find their voices and become leaders who can inspire others.
Introducing Urban Futures Collective: Real Stories, Raw Art, Real Opportunities
Urban Futures Collective is a developing youth-led creative enterprise powered by Genuine Futures CIC. Over the past eight months, we’ve been working alongside Paula to explore how original artwork, lived experience and powerful messages can be transformed into products that people can wear, use and connect with.
Our first creative concepts include T-shirts, hoodies, accessories and merchandise featuring artwork and messages inspired by resilience, identity and hope:
- I Am Not My Past
- I Don’t Chase Yesterday. I Create Tomorrow
- The Best View Comes After the Hardest Climb
These aren’t simply slogans. They reflect real experiences and the determination of young people who refuse to let their past define their future.
We want Urban Futures Collective to become a platform where young people can explore art, illustration, fashion, graphic design, photography, digital content and entrepreneurship. A place where creative ideas can become products, young people can develop practical skills, and their voices and experiences can inspire others.
Because young people’s creativity deserves more than applause. It deserves investment and opportunity.
Bolton’s Fund: Helping Us Create a Youth-Led Pop-Up Shop
One of the most exciting developments is our plan to establish an Urban Futures Collective pop-up shop, supported by funding from Bolton’s Fund, managed by Bolton Community and Voluntary Services (Bolton CVS).
Through our wider Boss Your Future work, we are creating practical opportunities for young people to experience entrepreneurship in a real-world environment. The pop-up shop will provide a platform for young artists, designers and aspiring entrepreneurs to showcase and sell their products while learning what it takes to operate a small business.
Young people will have opportunities to develop skills in product development; retail and customer service; marketing and branding; business and finance; teamwork and leadership; and enterprise and employment.
We want young people to be involved in every stage of the process — from designing products and developing the brand to organising the shop, promoting their work and serving customers. This is about creating opportunities to learn by doing and helping young people recognise that their ideas have value.
Our ambition is to develop the pop-up shop into a stepping stone towards a sustainable youth-led creative enterprise. We’re grateful to Bolton’s Fund and Bolton CVS for supporting this opportunity and helping us invest in the potential of Bolton’s young people.
Sam Smith: We Need to Stop Looking at What Young People Can’t Do
For me, this project is personal. I know what it feels like to be written off at a young age. I was excluded from school at 13, entered the care system and spent years caught up in the criminal justice system. For a long time, I couldn’t see a future beyond the circumstances I found myself in. It was entrepreneurship that eventually helped me change the direction of my life.
Sam Smith, Founder and Co-Director, Genuine Futures CIC:
“I’ve certainly enjoyed working on this project over the last eight months.
> Watching Paula develop her ideas, take the creative lead and turn her artwork into something tangible has been incredibly rewarding.
> I know what it feels like to be written off as a young person. But I also know how entrepreneurship can change someone’s life.
> We need to stop looking at what young people can’t do and start investing in what they can do.
> Paula has talent, creativity and lived experience that deserve to be recognised.
> Imagine how much talent we’re missing across Bolton simply because young people haven’t been given the opportunity to show what they’re capable of.”
That’s why the pop-up shop is so important. We’re not simply creating another retail space. We’re creating a place where young people can develop confidence, experience enterprise and begin to see themselves as future business owners.
Paula Yates: Helping Lead the Bolton NEET Taskforce
Paula’s progression extends beyond Urban Futures Collective. She is also helping lead our Bolton NEET Taskforce, bringing her lived experience, creativity and perspective into conversations about the future of young people across our town.
The Bolton NEET Taskforce was established by Genuine Futures CIC to bring together young people, community organisations, education providers, businesses and decision-makers. Our mission is to tackle the barriers that prevent young people from accessing education, employment, training and meaningful opportunities.
We believe young people must be part of developing the solutions. Too often, decisions about youth unemployment, school exclusion, poverty, homelessness and disengagement are made without the young people most affected.
Paula Yates — Youth Ambassador, Creative Lead and Bolton NEET Taskforce:
“Behind every young person who feels stuck is a story worth hearing and a future worth investing in.”
This is the message we want every decision-maker, employer and community partner in Bolton to hear. Behind every statistic is a young person. Behind every young person is a story. And behind every story is potential that deserves to be recognised.
Through the Taskforce, Paula will help champion creative opportunities, youth enterprise and the importance of recognising different talents and abilities. Not every young person discovers their strengths through traditional education. Some find their confidence through painting; others through music, photography, fashion, digital media or starting a business.
Our responsibility is to recognise those talents and create pathways that help young people move forward.
Mike Alleyne: Creativity Can Open Doors
At Genuine Futures, we know that meaningful change begins with trusted relationships. Our Co-Director, Mike Alleyne, brings a strong focus on personal development, mentoring and helping young people recognise their abilities.
Mike Alleyne, Co-Director, Genuine Futures CIC:
“One of the most important things we do through Boss Your Future is listen.
> Every young person has a different story, different strengths and different ambitions.
> Paula’s journey demonstrates what can happen when we recognise someone’s interests and help them build on those strengths.
> Creativity can open doors that traditional approaches sometimes cannot.
> Urban Futures Collective provides opportunities to develop confidence, teamwork, communication, enterprise skills and a real sense of achievement.
> We want young people to recognise that their ideas have value and that they have something positive to contribute to their communities.”
Charlotte Hamblet: Creating Opportunities for Young People to Flourish
Urban Futures Collective has developed through a collaborative approach that brings together creativity, education, enterprise and lived experience.
Charlotte Hamblet, Genuine Futures CIC:
“What’s exciting about Urban Futures Collective is the opportunity it creates for young people to explore their creativity while developing practical skills for their futures.
> Paula’s progression from Boss Your Future graduate into a creative leadership role shows why personalised support and encouragement matter.
> When young people feel listened to and supported, they can begin to recognise their own potential.
> It’s encouraging to see this project developing into something that could create opportunities for more young artists and entrepreneurs across Bolton.”
Unlocking Bolton’s Hidden Artistic Talent
Across Bolton, there are young people with extraordinary creative abilities. Some are drawing in their bedrooms. Others are producing music, designing clothing, experimenting with photography, creating digital content or developing ideas for businesses.
But many have never had the opportunity to showcase their work, build a portfolio or explore how their creativity could become a career. For young people who are not in education, employment or training, these barriers can be even greater.
Through Boss Your Future Bolton and Urban Futures Collective, we want to connect young people with artists, designers, businesses, mentors and practical opportunities. We want to create welcoming spaces where young people can try something new without fear of judgement and demonstrate that creative talent can become a genuine pathway into employment, training and self-employment.
The Urban Futures Collective pop-up shop will be an important part of that journey.
Bolton’s Got Talent – Coming Soon!
As Urban Futures Collective continues to develop, we’re also exploring another exciting opportunity: BOLTON’S GOT TALENT!
But we’re not just talking about singing and dancing. We’re talking about artists, illustrators, designers, photographers, digital creators, musicians, storytellers and entrepreneurs — young people with talent who haven’t yet had the opportunity to show what they can do.
We want to discover that talent, celebrate it and help young people develop their skills. Through Boss Your Future, Urban Futures Collective and our wider partnerships, we want to create more opportunities for young people to explore their interests and build brighter futures.
Because Bolton doesn’t have a shortage of talent. We need to create more opportunities to unlock it.
Youth Voice, Lived Experience and Enterprise: Building a Different Future
At Genuine Futures, we believe the people closest to the challenges should help shape the solutions. That’s why lived experience is central to everything we do. It’s why we’ve launched the Bolton NEET Taskforce and why we’re investing time and energy into developing youth-led enterprises like Urban Futures Collective.
We don’t want young people to simply attend programmes designed by adults. We want them to help create, develop and lead opportunities themselves. Paula’s journey is an example of what that can look like.
We want to build a future where young people aren’t defined by their past, creativity is recognised as a strength, lived experience is valued, and every young person has a genuine opportunity to contribute.
Prevention before crisis. Opportunity before exclusion. Listening before judgement.
Get Involved: Help Us Build Bolton’s Next Generation of Young Entrepreneurs
Urban Futures Collective is still developing, but our ambition is clear. We want to create a sustainable youth-led creative enterprise and pop-up shop that celebrates artistic talent, develops practical business skills and opens new opportunities for young people.
We’re inviting local businesses, artists, designers, creative professionals, community organisations and supporters to get involved. Whether you can offer mentoring, printing expertise, creative workshops, retail opportunities, sponsorship or business advice, your involvement could make a real difference.
Are You Aged 15–24 and Living in Bolton?
If you’re not currently in education, employment or training and have an interest in art, fashion, design, digital media or starting your own business, Boss Your Future could be for you. You don’t need qualifications, a portfolio or previous experience — just an interest in discovering what’s possible.
Referral form: https://genuinefutures.co.uk/young-futures-hub-of-hope-referral-form
Watch our teaser: https://youtube.com/shorts/NihsygiPsUI
Our Bolton. Our Future.
I’ve certainly enjoyed being part of this journey over the past eight months. Seeing Paula’s ideas come to life has been a reminder of why we started Genuine Futures. There’s still plenty of work ahead, but that’s what makes this project exciting.
With the support of Bolton’s Fund, Bolton CVS, our partners and the young people themselves, we’re working to turn creative ideas into real opportunities.
We’re not just creating products. We’re creating confidence, developing skills and helping young people build their futures.
Urban Futures Collective — Real Stories. Raw Art. Real Opportunities.
Sam Smith, Founder and Co-Director, Genuine Futures CIC
Bridging the gap to hope and opportunity.