Amanda Bright (Founder / director)

“I graduated from the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama’s BA Acting course in 2003, and since then I’ve built a career that combines acting, teaching, facilitation and creative leadership. Over the past twenty years I’ve worked as an actor across stage and screen, while also delivering projects as a facilitator, audio describer and practitioner. My work has taken me into schools, theatres and community spaces across London and beyond, always with the same aim: to use the arts as a tool for connection, expression and growth.

I’ve devised and led education projects for organisations such as the Tricycle Theatre (now the Kiln), the Orange Tree Theatre, and several corporate role-play companies. From 2005–2011, I returned to Central as a Visiting Lecturer, and in 2008 was proud to become the Artistic Director of Central’s Jack Petchey Youth Theatre, supporting young people to explore their voices on stage and beyond.

In 2014, I founded Arts Bridge Charity with the belief that the arts should be accessible to all, and that creativity can be a powerful tool for improving literacy, confidence and wellbeing. My own journey informs this work deeply: as a Black British woman from Tottenham—an area with high levels of poverty—I had to overcome barriers to pursue an arts career. I wanted to create an organisation that would break down those barriers for others, opening doors for children, young people and communities who are too often excluded from opportunities in the arts.

Through Arts Bridge we’ve developed innovative programmes such as Wellness Warriors (supporting children’s mental health through creative practice), Root to Rise (celebrating intergenerational stories of resilience), and Pajoma/Collective, a company of emerging Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent Black and Asian performers creating new theatre with access embedded at its core. Our work is driven by partnerships—with schools, cultural organisations, and community groups—and grounded in evidence, with evaluation and external review built into everything we do.

At heart, I believe the arts can change lives because I’ve seen it—both in my own story, and in the many children, families and communities we work with through Arts Bridge.”