Canberra Youth Theatre is one of Australia’s leading youth arts organisations, creating intelligent and challenging experiences that facilitate young people’s engagement with the arts. A young person’s access to the arts is a human right.

For over 50 years, CYT has been a pivotal organisation in the local and national arts scene. We have created new works in major theatres, public spaces, and national cultural institutions. Every year we help over 500 young artists to tell their stories. We are a leading employer of professional artists in the region, supporting young artists to develop in a professional environment.

Occupying a crucial space between youth arts, the professional sector, and community belonging, we are a driver of social transformation through dynamic artistic practice and an inclusive youth-led approach to creative expression. Artistic expression and creativity is essential to a young person’s development, and our work strives to ignite that spark in every young Canberran. Our work is made in collaboration with young people, and enables them to ignite critical conversations that challenge perceptions of what young people can create and achieve.

Our passion lies in giving young people a unique place to be creative, to belong, and to nurture their personal and professional paths towards success. From artists working on professional stages around the country, to a young person gaining the confidence to speak in front of crowds or make a new friend, we’ve been a core part of helping youth find their people, their purpose, and most importantly, their voice for over 50 years.

We believe that all young people deserve a safe place to belong and to be heard, wherever they come from. But without your contribution, we won’t be able to keep providing the same opportunities – the ones that will empower them to become confident, creative, empathetic and resilient members of our community.

The future of arts, begins with you.