Children in Need — 2020
In 2020, WheelWorks worked with 85 young people through Children in Need. Here we share the story of one of our young people.
At the beginning, the group was invited to express their feelings through physical art in any way they chose. Our lead artist took a slightly more directive approach for the second meeting by introducing a large sheet of paper with a design that the young people could come and fill in at any time during the programme. From this, a mural design was produced which expressed the participants’ feelings and outlook of the world around them.
The back-and-forth movement of group art created a busy and dynamic space in which to work. One of the young people (K) found this to be a particularly satisfying experience, reflective of the manner in which she carries out her work.
“I felt it gave me a lot of space to… be colourful; to be myself … but also appreciate each other’s talents. I think it’s not taken on, so I really felt much of mine was in that picture. And I didn’t feel judged, I felt I had the freedom to do it.”
In other groups, K had struggled to make connections with others and didn’t feel confident enough to contribute. At home she has a lot of responsibility looking after her younger sister but as her Youth Worker stated her “strength and maturity” at home never seem to translate into the Youth Club or Youth club activities.
Initially, K would often not attend or arrive late to the club, however as her participation went on, she only missed one session and was only late twice which was significant improvement.
K remarked, “I wouldn’t really be expressing very much about myself before, but now I feel I am opening up and sharing my ideas with others, it was easier as many of the young people had similar experiences to me.”
K explained that within the art-making process she stood on an equal level where in other activities she felt alone and not able to take part. The space served as a way of breaking down barriers and opening possibilities for open communication with K.
