Initiated in 2020, The Turnpike CIC’s Making of Us programme was designed to address a gap in the sector by supporting 16 early to mid-career socially engaged artists with creative professional development. One of the aims of the programme was to prepare the artists to work in a socially engaged way with diverse audiences, in particular to give them experience of working with young people, vulnerable groups and those with additional needs. The artists were matched into pairs and collaborated with cross-sector partners to develop creative projects together, with a focus on co-creation, experimentation, mutual learning, mentoring and community engagement. The project was led by Project Coordinators Emma Fry and Shelley Cater-Shipway and evaluated by Debbie Walker.