What is Tuff Cookie?

Tuff Cookie is a youth arts education company focused on improving mental, social and emotional wellbeing in young people from underserved communities. We deliver creative youth programmes that teach key life skills and build self-confidence through the core values of hip hop culture.

We equip young people to develop their knowledge of self, tools for navigating the world as it is now, and skills for creating the world they want to live in. We are guided by the resilience framework and rooted in the philosophy of hip hop.

We ask: where did we come from? Who are we now? And where are we going?

Tuff Cookie collaborates with schools and youth organisations to deliver programmes to groups of young people in the uk.

We also collaborate with culturally and skilfully diverse creatives to design engaging projects that support young people to develop life skills, build confidence and connect with their local area. 

OUR APPROACH?

Who are we for?

Our projects are designed to give young people aged 13 - 19 (up to 25 for SEND) the education, support and opportunities that are often missing from an underprivileged upbringing and from mainstream education.

We achieve this by looking at the inner and outer worlds of our young people…

Developing the Inner World

  • Individuality

    Recognising and celebrating what makes us unique.

  • Introspection

    Examining our own thoughts and trying new things.

  • Consciousness

    Developing our self awareness and emotional literacy.

  • Identity

    Exploring our deepest passions and ambitions.

Showing up in the Outer World

  • Collaboration

    Learning to communicate and work as a team towards a shared goal.

  • Purpose

    Taking positive action on what matters to us.

  • Competence

    Learning external skills to enable healthy, empowered, resilient living (such as healthy lifestyles and economic well-being).

  • Community

    Welcoming diversity and practicing care to each other despite our social differences.

Meet the Team

  • Dan

    FOUNDER, DIRECTOR & ART EDUCATOR

    Better known creatively as ‘SUIGEN’, Dan is an arts award winning illustrator & muralist with over a decade of experience in graffiti & a lifelong connection to visual art. With a background in grassroots youth work and having grown up in a youth arts environment, Dan was personally familiar with the impact that a creative safe space can have on young people. Dan founded Tuff Cookie in 2022, alongside partner Susannah Phillipson to provide a space for young creatives to develop their artistic skills, establish their sense of identity & and engage with peers in their local community.

  • Susannah

    CO-FOUNDER, PROJECT MANAGER & PROGRAMME LEAD

    Susannah Phillipson, is a youth mentor, crafter, storyteller, permaculturalist and creative ideas wizard. She has a strong background in leading youth projects with a particular focus on student-led creative expression. Susannah’s work focuses on meeting young people where they are; supporting them to learn and develop in ways that are meaningful to them and connected with their world. Susannah joined Dan in 2022, after meeting at a summer youth camp & sparking up a deep creative connection fueled by a shared passion for youth engagement.