Valley House is a multi service agency operating from a community campus, which incorporates a Children’s Centre. Having undergone significant financial changes which challenged its provision to its users, it wanted to work with its young people (16 – 25yrs) to explore issues around their identity and what it is to be a Young Person in their community; to see what impact giving them control over a creative intervention can bring about in enabling them develop their own confidence and helping them raise their aspirations in relation to future training, job opportunities and community involvement. Part of the project was to see them reflecting on what taking control can feel like and mean to young people, combined with the opportunity to express themselves in positive, creative ways.
“I can talk to new people better. I’ve got more confidence. Don’t think I would have been able to talk to people like you (Creative Agent) before about what I’d learnt and stuff” Young Person
“Leon (Creative Practitioner) did this button thing. It was mad. We had a button and had to come up with a whole story for it. When he first gave us a button I thought it was going to be crap, but then like, we all went quiet and everyone was doing so much writing. No one said anything and we all had lots of ideas. It was crazy! I know if I want to write a rap or story again I can just use something around me to make it” Young Person
“The young people knew what they wanted and it’s ok to be led by them and we feel better equipped to help the young people to realise their ideas and make them happen.” Youth Worker
“ I can’t believe I keep forgetting to eat my food!” Young Person’s comment who’d became so engrossed in the work his food was left and cold by the end of the session.
This project encompasses our organisational aims by ‘developing services that meet individual aspirations through partnership working with individuals, families and their communities’ (VH Mission statement)
The project aimed to enhance the Centre’s existing youth project, by exploring creative activity to enable relationship building, raise young people’s aspirations and develop their individual creativity and self-expression skills. The young people chose a focus of exploring what it is to be a YP in Coventry. The project was devised and planned from the outset with the young people who would be the participants. The whole process was supported by a core team from the centre, and was devised as a youth project for young people organised by young people responding to their own needs and aspirations. The centre wanted its young people to develop improved self-esteem, and to identify how to bring about positive changes in their lives. It was also intended that as a result they would feel empowered to take a more active role in their community. 19 young people aged between 16 and 25 (including 6 young parents) took part who all had a connection with the north east of Coventry. There were also two youth workers and two social work students and one community engagement worker. Everyone was jointly involved in planning and evaluation the project.
The central question the project sought to address was: “How can creative activity chosen by young people raise their aspirations and have a positive effect on their lives?"
Planning was begun by looking at the centre’s current activity and objectives, and consulting with the young people involved. There were a number of activities the group were interested in which were refined in the planning process and further developed during the project activity. Art forms were focused down to Graffiti, street dancing, and rapping. There was also an interest to document the work, and to ensure the final event was put together in a professional manner, so the group decided to also work with a curator.
The project was planned to take place over four hour sessions once a week, over a ten week period between December and February. The young people pulled together an exhibition of their work, using their own camera skills, and held a celebration event/showing on the 25th of February, showcasing the young people’s Graffiti, Rap and Dance skills.
The project work began in December with 2 sessions with a Rap artist, then 4 sessions with a Graffiti artist and then 4 with a Dance artist. There was then an intensive period over the half term week with the Rap and Dance artist to put together the final performances and produce a CD. It also gave some YP the opportunity to help assemble the exhibition.
The young people planned the project around art forms they felt passionate about, they wanted to start immediately, and were not keen on tendering or interviewing so the creative agent recommended some relevant practitioners who the young people met informally and confirmed they were happy to work with:
Matt Reeves is a Graffiti artist from Birmingham, who had recently worked on a graffiti event at the Herbert with Mohamed Ali, and so had connections with the City and some kudos with the young people. He not only had skills as a Graffiti artist, but in organising events and meeting tight deadlines as a scenic artist. The group felt he was perfect to be the curator of the project and spent most sessions with the young people to capture their thoughts and images and oversee the project to feed into the final event. Leon Burke and Professor D were rappers, again from Birmingham, who had both delivered a large amount of workshops with young people. David Barker is a dance artist from Nuneaton with extensive experience of working with Creative Partnerships but has also worked professionally at a very high level.
The final celebration event was a very positive way of sharing with young people and their families and friends, and provided a good opportunity to showcase the work of The Whole Shabang and the Cre8us project. The event resulted in getting 5 new people into wider Valley House project work, and as an organisation Valley House have been able to engage with more young men through the project, which is something they usually find quite challenging.
The children of the young parents involved with the project had an opportunity to develop through their own play over the timescale of the project, where they would not usually be engaged in playful activity for such long periods. The project developed a routine for the children, which in turn developed the young people’s parenting skills. Advice and support was at hand for those parents at an often difficult time of school holidays. It gave the young people confidence in their abilities, new and developed, and some have performed and produced work in a way they had never done before. At the end event, on family member pulled the Creative Agent aside and was so excited he had seen his niece perform, saying she had never had the confidence to do anything like that before.
The project improved their self-esteem, evidenced by the young people talking about the time and money that they could see was spent on the project giving it validity for them – they felt it was worth participating because they could see their aims and ideas were valued. By being involved in a diverse project, the young people developed strong friendships with those who they would may not have had the opportunity to meet before, such as young parents, young immigrants, those older and younger than themselves. By having this exposure they developed their own understanding and knowledge of barriers that others experience.
For the youth workers it enabled them to be in a position where they were free and able (with fear) to have a go at activities alongside the young people. They spoke about usually getting involved but then having to take a step back, but this process allowed them to more fully and collaboratively participate. Staff, volunteers and students on placement all contributed towards the Graffiti workshops, street dance choreography, RAP and lyric writing. By doing so the young people were able to develop an equitable relationship with those who seem to be ‘authority’. Youth workers commented that whilst their job is about listening and working with young people they felt they developed their skills in listening and relating to young people.
The young people wanted to record their own work, but didn’t previously know how to, so the project gave them and the youth workers the confidence to try things out, and the skills and knowledge to contact and talk to other practitioners when they needed something outside their own expertise. It de-mystified the fear of the unknown and opened up further possibilities for the wider Valley House project. The youth workers talked about always being open to the young people’s suggestions but being sometimes limited by knowledge, but now feeling anything is possible. They have realised they don’t need to know everything, just need to know where to find people, and what to ask for.
All the Young People feel they learnt either to rap, to dance or to draw / graffiti, or all 3! A number mentioned the button technique showed by Leon in the early sessions as a way of coming up with ideas in the future. All the young people talked about an increase in confidence, even those who seemingly appeared to have it before. For some this was about being more comfortable in the group, and around new people, but for others it was about confidence and belief in themselves to achieve more by seeing themselves goals and raising their aspirations.
Staff commented that a number of young people were considerably proactive in enabling the project to happen. They were involved from the early planning stages, by representing their peers and thinking creatively about how to implement the project to attract a diverse group of young people. It had some very real impact on young people with one young man looking at developing a career in music, and other young people understanding how to dream about bigger things.
The young people all talked about having raised aspirations and the project having a positive effect on their lives. The reasons they thought were:
• they had been listened to
• they had been given new skills, that they could clearly see helping them in the future
• they had had chance to get to know each other
• they felt valued.
The project gave the young people opportunity to plan, develop and lead a project from start to finish, which is something none of them had experienced before. As the project came to an end, they were already buzzing about new ideas and what they want to do next, collectively and individually.
The project enabled other members of the wider Valley House team to see the work that goes on within the wider Valley House young people’s projects. This supported staff development in approaching sessions using different methods, and realising that projects don’t have to be limited to the immediate skills within the group and staff team. In terms of developing sustainable and embedded creative learning, it has encouraged the Centre to use external practitioners where appropriate and if funds allow, but if that isn’t possible, they all feel more confident to give it a go.
It has further embedded in the work the Centre does the importance to follow young people’s interests, and develop creative skills. Valley House intends to build on the outcomes and learning of this project by initially looking at short term projects and activity which keep the momentum whilst seeking further funding to expand on existing outcomes.