Magic Me

What Magic Me does

Magic Me is a UK-registered intergenerational arts charity (charity number 328331) founded in 1989 by Susan Langford MBE and headquartered in Bethnal Green, Tower Hamlets. Its core service is participatory arts facilitation that brings 7-18 year olds and people aged 55+ together as equal creative partners, delivered through programmes including Creative Mix (school-sheltered housing workshops), Spark (sensory arts and staff training in care homes), Filmmaking (intergenerational documentary projects), It's on the Cards (currently on display at the Wellcome Collection), LAB (experimental community pilots), and Artists & Practice (Associate Artist L&D). Operations span schools, care homes, sheltered housing, and cultural venues across Tower Hamlets, wider East London, and Essex, with a delivery model reliant on 15+ freelance Associate Artists coordinated by a small core staff team.

The charity's "technology" is a proprietary six-principle intergenerational arts methodology developed over 35 years, centred on intentional relationship building, equal exchange between generations, and anti-ageist/anti-racist practice. It generates no product revenue from participants; instead, income is drawn from charitable trusts and foundations (Paul Hamlyn Foundation, National Lottery Community Fund, Arts Council England, Garfield Weston, Tudor Trust, Rayne Foundation, Childwick Trust), local authority contracts (Tower Hamlets, Essex County Council), corporate partnerships for employee volunteering (EY, Google, Schroders, Bank of England), individual donations (including Big Give matched appeals and legacy giving), and a small fee-based training and consultancy stream for care staff and community organisations. In 2025/26 the charity reported engaging 886 participants across 25 projects, with 92% reporting improved community connections.

Following founder Susan Langford MBE's retirement in November 2025, leadership passed to Joint CEOs Ben Butcher (Executive Director) and Kate Hodson (Creative Director). In 2025-2026 the charity absorbed InCommon's Connect programme after that charity's closure and secured a flagship commission at the Wellcome Collection ('The Coming of Age' exhibition, March-November 2026), positioning it for geographic and reputational expansion beyond Tower Hamlets.

Name

Magic Me

Legal name

Magic Me

Website

https://magicme.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Magic Me is a UK-registered intergenerational arts charity, founded 1989, that delivers participatory creative projects bringing 7-18 year olds and people aged 55+ together in schools, care homes, sheltered housing, and cultural venues across Tower Hamlets, East London, and Essex.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Intergenerational Community Arts Services

NAICS

Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412), Child and Youth Services (62411), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHSABANAJ

Intergenerational Day Programs (Seniors + Childcare)

Home & Personal Services/Elder Care & In-Home Care Services/Adult Day Care & Senior Day Programs

SECONDARYHSABAEAH

Cognitive Stimulation & Reminiscence Therapy (Non-Clinical)

Home & Personal Services/Elder Care & In-Home Care Services/Dementia & Alzheimer’s In-Home Care

SECONDARYHSABAEAA

Dementia Companion & Engagement Care

Home & Personal Services/Elder Care & In-Home Care Services/Dementia & Alzheimer’s In-Home Care

SECONDARYEDAAAGAA

Visual Arts (Drawing, Painting, Illustration)

Education/Adult & Continuing Education/Personal Enrichment & Hobby Learning (Arts, Crafts, Music, Cooking)

Keywords

• Intergenerational arts programmes
• Community arts charity services
• Care home creative training
• Social prescribing arts
• Arts-based community engagement

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Trusts and Foundations: Funding from charitable trusts and foundations supporting social cohesion, dementia care, and community wellbeing projects. Major funders include Paul Hamlyn Foundation, National Lottery Community Fund, Childwick Trust, Rayne Foundation, Tudor Trust, Garfield Weston Foundation.
2. Local Authority Contracts: Contracts with Essex County Council, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, and other local authorities for care home projects and community arts programmes.
3. Corporate Partnerships: CSR and ESG partnerships offering employee engagement, skills-based volunteering, corporate grants, payroll giving, and in-kind support. Partners include EY, Google, Schroders, Bank of England.
4. Individual Donations: Donations from individuals including regular giving and one-time contributions. Charity participates in Big Give Christmas Challenge where donations are matched.
5. Legacy Giving: Legacies and gifts in Wills, in-memory donations, and funeral collections. Charity number 328331.
6. Training and Consultancy: Fee-based training for care staff, teachers, and community leaders on embedding intergenerational arts practices, plus strategic consultancy on programme design and impact evaluation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Magic Me is an intergenerational arts charity that delivers participatory creative programmes bringing children and young people (7-18) together with older neighbours (55+) as equal partners. Its flagship Spark programme combines artist-led training and care home visits delivering sensory arts activities for residents including those with dementia, while other projects (Creative Mix, Filmmaking, LAB, It's on the Cards) deliver workshops in schools, sheltered housing, community centres, and cultural venues across East London and Essex. Services are free to participants and complemented by fee-based training and consultancy for care staff, teachers and community leaders.

Product overview

Magic Me is an intergenerational arts charity offering a portfolio of participatory arts projects that bring younger and older people together to build community connections and combat loneliness. The core programme includes six active projects: Creative Mix (connecting sixth form students with older adults), Filmmaking (women making documentaries), It's on the Cards (birthday card design project at Wellcome Collection), LAB (experimental community pilots), Spark (care home sensory arts and staff training), and Artists & Practice (artist development). The organisation also maintains an archive of past projects spanning over 35 years, including Cocktails in Care Homes, Arts & Ages, Bancroft Estate Mural, and intergenerational initiatives with museums and cultural institutions. Projects range from community-based workshops in Tower Hamlets to care home training programmes across London and Essex.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Spark: Magic Me's flagship care home project delivering sensory arts and staff training across London and Essex.
• Creative Mix
• LAB
• Artists & Practice

Products and services

• Spark Care Home Programme Magic Me's flagship care home project combining artist-led training and care home visits to deliver sensory arts activities (light, colour, texture) for residents including those with dementia, with staff training to embed creativity in everyday care across London and Essex.
• Creative Mix Intergenerational project bringing together sixth form students from Mulberry UTC and older adults from Tower Hamlets sheltered housing for regular creative workshops exploring connection and belonging.
• Filmmaking Longstanding intergenerational collaboration between local girls' schools (Mulberry School for Girls, Connaught School for Girls) and older women from Tower Hamlets where participants create mini-documentaries exploring issues including women's stories across generations.
• It's on the Cards Intergenerational project in which local primary school students and older Tower Hamlets residents design birthday cards to explore ageism, displayed at Wellcome Collection's 'The Coming of Age' exhibition from March to November 2026.
• LAB Umbrella programme for experimental, community-responsive projects used to listen to residents and co-create arts projects addressing local challenges, including intergenerational LGBTQ+ community building.
• Artists & Practice (Learning & Development Programme) Specialised programme of free Learning and Development days for Magic Me's Associate Artists providing professional development in creative skills and anti-racist, anti-ageist, pro-safeguarding practice.
• Spark Book of Ideas Publication bringing together sensory arts techniques and suggestions for care staff, designed and produced in partnership with corporate supporters DesignPrintBind and A&O Shearman.
• Training and Consultancy for Care Staff, Teachers and Community Leaders Fee-based training and strategic consultancy for organisations on embedding intergenerational arts practices, programme design and impact evaluation, with recent commissions from Public Health Tower Hamlets and Jewish Care.

Quantifiable outcome

• 886 participants engaged in 25 projects during 2025/26
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered major, minor, flagship and core.

• InCommonmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Fellow intergenerational charity whose 'Connect' programme (connecting schools with housing schemes and day centres) was transferred to Magic Me following InCommon's closure in 2026.
• The Linking NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Bradford-based charity inheriting InCommon's Empower digital platform supporting intergenerational activities nationally.
• Gen-AllminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Organisation inheriting InCommon's Age-Friendly Awards as part of sector collaboration.
• Wellcome CollectionflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Flagship commission for 'The Coming of Age' exhibition (March-November 2026) featuring 'It's on the Cards' installation exploring ageism through birthday card design, expected to reach 500,000 visitors annually.
• ExcelcarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCare home provider partnering on Spark programme delivery across multiple Excelcare homes in Essex.
• GeckomajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAward-winning physical theatre company collaborating on Artists' Residencies in Care Homes (ARCH) project.
• New AdventuresmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIconic dance-theatre company partnering on ARCH project bringing movement and dance to care home residents.
• Anglia Ruskin UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner evaluating ARCH project through Professor Hilary Bungy and team, producing 'Dare to Imagine' report.
• Mulberry Schools TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term education partner providing students for Creative Mix, Filmmaking, and other intergenerational projects.
• UnmappedminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArts, health and wellbeing researchers collaborating with Magic Me to develop new ways of evaluating Spark projects involving those living with dementia.
• curious directivemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternationally touring theatre company exploring science topics, collaborating on ARCH care home residencies.
• Fevered SleepmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompany making work in theatre, dance, film, installation, print and digital art partnering on ARCH project.
• Bank of EnglandminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner with staff volunteering at Christmas to box up art materials for care home projects.
• EYminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner providing employee engagement and volunteering opportunities.
• GoogleminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner supporting Magic Me through employee volunteering and engagement programmes.
• Gateway Housing AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHousing association partner for Creative Mix project, connecting residents from Ted Roberts House, Hugh Platt House and Rochester Court with young people.
• DesignPrintBindminorOthersDesign and printing partner producing the Spark Book of Ideas publication.
• A&O ShearmanminorOthersCorporate partner who designed and produced the Spark Book of Ideas publication.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Arts 4 Dementia: Arts 4 Dementia trains arts facilitators and care staff to deliver creative programmes for people living with dementia. It is a focused peer to Magic Me's Spark programme, sharing the same intersection of arts practice and dementia care delivery.
• The Linking Network: The Linking Network connects schools and communities across the UK to build understanding and relationships. Magic Me explicitly identifies it as a partner that inherited InCommon's Empower platform, marking them as close thematic peers in the intergenerational space.
• Apples and Honey Nightingale: Apples and Honey Nightingale is the UK's first intergenerational nursery, deliberately bringing pre-school children and older adults together daily. It is a direct intergenerational peer to Magic Me given its operational model of cross-generation co-participation.
• Alive! Activities Ltd: Alive! delivers arts, music, and creative engagement programmes in care homes across the UK, including training and activities for residents with dementia. It directly parallels Magic Me's Spark programme in combining artist-led activities with staff training in care settings.
• Ladder to the Moon: Ladder to the Moon is a UK charity that uses creativity and the arts to improve the wellbeing of older adults in care settings. It shares Magic Me's core operating model of embedding creative practice in care homes and training care staff to sustain engagement.
• Equal Arts: Equal Arts is a UK charity specialising in intergenerational and creative arts programmes for older people, including care home residents. It is a direct peer to Magic Me given its overlapping model of using artists to engage older adults and connect generations through creative activity.

Emerging players

• Playlist for Life: Playlist for Life promotes the use of personal music for people living with dementia across the UK. It shares Magic Me's mission of improving dementia care through non-clinical, creative interventions but focuses on a single art-form (music).
• Lost Chord UK: Lost Chord provides interactive musical experiences for people with dementia in care homes. It overlaps with Magic Me's Spark programme on the care home creative-engagement axis, but specialises in music rather than multi-art-form delivery.
• Together: An Intergenerational Arts Project (Bethany House): Together is an intergenerational arts project run by Bethany House in Sheffield connecting care home residents and young people through creative workshops. It is a smaller, regional peer to Magic Me given the similar model of placing arts at the centre of intergenerational connection.

Regional players

• Generations Working Together: Generations Working Together is a Scotland-based organisation promoting intergenerational practice, training, and policy across the UK. It is an adjacent peer to Magic Me given shared focus on building intergenerational programmes, though it operates primarily in Scotland.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInuk.linkedin.com/company/magic-me
• Instagraminstagram.com/magicmearts
• Xx.com/magicmearts

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Magic Me