Streetwise Opera has been awarded a £60,073 grant from the ScottishPower Foundation to support our 2025/26 Streetwise Sessions programme.

Streetwise Sessions this year will focus on Reimagining the Classics, a bold new project in which people with lived experience of homelessness will explore and reinterpret some of opera’s most iconic but challenging works. Through workshops, research and co-creation with professional artists, they will question the narratives, reflect on the values behind them, and rebuild the stories from their own perspectives. The result will be powerful new performances that confront ideas of power, class, gender and dignity, and invite audiences to see these masterpieces through a new lens.

Rachael Williams, Chief Executive of Streetwise Opera, said:

“We’re incredibly grateful to the ScottishPower Foundation for this generous grant. Their support will help us continue placing the creativity, voices and ambitions of people experiencing homelessness at the heart of our work. Our weekly Streetwise Sessions, delivered in Manchester, Nottingham and London, are a vital space where people can connect, grow in confidence and reinvent their lives.”

Since 2013 the ScottishPower Foundation has awarded over £15million to charitable initiatives throughout the UK, including more than 250 grants for projects ranging from helping the next generation into STEM careers to reducing isolation among older people.

In 2025, 20 charities across the UK will share over £1.2m in funding from the ScottishPower Foundation which supports incredible projects that make a positive impact in communities across the country.