National awards recognition for creative team

Creative specialists at a Shropshire consultancy are celebrating after scooping a coveted national award in their milestone anniversary year.

ReachOut Arts is an event management and educational workshop company, which has been named as Shropshire Business Champions 2022 at the Town and County Awards in London.

And the success has come in the year the Bridgnorth-based team are marking their fifth anniversary after surviving the challenges of Covid-19 and frequent lockdowns.

Director Saskia Fuchs said: “We started as a small female-led arts and education company and we’ve grown into a national, accredited consultancy providing bespoke support for large visitor attractions, theatre performances, and interactive, immersive educational workshops all over the UK.

“We were chosen as finalists in the Town and County Awards from a wide range of businesses across Shropshire, and to be named as the winner against such brilliant competition made us speechless.

“It was a real boost to our reputation and a testament to the hard work our team has put in to deliver incredible events to our ever-growing client list.”

ReachOut Arts covers two key areas:

• The creative consultancy ReachOut Creative focuses on event management and planning for a successful arts programme or marketing project covering all areas of event set-up including theatrical production from idea to stage.
• ReachOut Educate delivers workshops to schools and educational settings specialising in anti-bullying, building confidence and living history.

The consultancy has delivered several large-scale projects in the last year including working with Dame Julie Walters on the sell-out Enchanted Express with the Severn Valley Railway.

“We have also partnered with Telford College and Birmingham Institute of Art and Design as professional affiliates working alongside students on live briefs and offering year-round placements,” said Saskia.

Saskia and fellow director Gem Bridges-Medley (pictured above) have over 35 years of combined experience working with students of all ages.

They are now working with their support team up and down the country offering creative consultancy advice to help museums, tourist attractions and other settings enhance the experience their visitors enjoy.

Gem said: “This year we’re delivering a family friendly production in the main arena at Shrewsbury Flower giving a Jubilee twist to the story of Alice in Wonderland, and we’re involved in the Queen’s baton events locally for the Commonwealth Games.

“We have also been working with the Ironbridge Gorge Museums Trust too and the team at Camp Bestival and are excited to what the future holds for ReachOut Arts.

“It’s an incredibly busy time for us, but we’re excited to see what started with just the two of us grow into such a dynamic and thriving business.”