Express Yourself: get creative this Children’s Mental Health Week
As we wrestle with a winter national lockdown, and with many children missing their school and friends, it’s more vital than ever we focus on young people’s mental health and wellbeing.
Inspired by Children’s Mental Health Week we’re celebrating some arts and cultural projects supporting children’s wellbeing, made possible thanks to Arts Council investment from the Government and the National Lottery. These south west organisations are lifting children’s spirits in times of crisis, with many projects having a positive deep and lasting impact on their health and wellbeing.
Artfulscribe
ArtfulScribe support emerging and continuing young writers in Hampshire, Dorset, and the Solent region to create new work and develop skills through writing workshops, live events and career-development opportunities. They work with children and young people, exploring non-fiction, fiction, poetry and scriptwriting, providing skills for self-expression and creativity, encouraging motivation and inspiration through the written word.
Dae Fletcher, participant: Artfulscribe provided me with so many fantastic opportunities. They help bring young people into the literary world from outside of school. They give young people new tools to express themselves in a creative and supportive environment, without the huge emphasis on needing to be ‘right’ that exists in schools.
They run a range on online events and workshops for young writers.
ZoieLogic Dance Theatre
Southampton’s ZoieLogic Dance Theatre challenge the perceptions of dance – who it’s for, and where and how it is shown. They offer a range of stepping stones for young men to overcome mental health challenges and enter the world of contemporary dance through their ‘Fuzzy’ programmes.
Last year, they brought over 60 participants together in Southampton’s cultural quarter for a socially distanced event, The Grid Experience. People learnt choreography at home before coming together to perform a unique street dance.
This year they are working on We Are Holyrood, a dance and film project celebrating the stories of Southampton’s Holyrood estate and its residents, which is part of the city-wide Mayflower 400 programme.
Watch this space for We Are Holyrood and more The Grid Experience, and read about Rudi’s journey with FuzzyClear.
Plymouth Music Zone
Plymouth Music Zone use the power of music to help transform lives.
Their three-year Breakthrough Music programme offers creative music-making and social experiences, focussing on young people who may otherwise miss out and enables them to fulfil their creative potential.
Over the last year, they worked with education, health and social care organisations to deliver ‘musical respite’ activities to support the emotional wellbeing of young people and their families who may have been subject to domestic abuse or sexual violence, as well as young people experiencing severe mental health or addiction issues.
They have a series of on and offline resources designed for use in these extraordinary times.
Theatre Alibi
Theatre Alibi’s use drama to help primary school children deal with complex feelings such as fear, isolation and missing people.
The play Down to Earth tells the story of Janet, an astronaut who lands in a primary school playground on her return to Earth after feeling lonely and isolated in space.
As well as touring primary schools, Theatre Alibi create animations for audiences to watch before and after Janet’s visit, created a resource pack and an online interactive version of her story so that children watch and engage with it from home.
Fluid Motion Theatre
Fluid Motion Theatre’s Recovery Project was developed with education and health partners to help children and young people find ways to improve their physical and mental wellbeing through creative activity.
Specialist youth practitioners deliver the practical workshops in secondary schools, focussing on ‘Loss’, ‘Isolation’ ‘Coping’ and ‘Emergence’, to support the rebuilding of friendships and social engagement. Young people explore the themes through drama, helping them process their feelings, anxieties and actions, and start to rebuild, recover and thrive again.
They produced a useful resource on having positive, ‘creative conversations’ with young people, designed to help them talk about their experiences and challenges during difficult periods.
Year 9 Student, participant in Fluid Motion Theatre’s workshops, said: “I have always tried to understand my head, I find it really complicated sometimes. I was reluctant to take part in the project at first but I am so glad I did. This project has helped me understand myself better and helped me understand my mental health.”
From the Archives: Hampshire Cultural Trust
Working with youth charities, arts organisations and artists across the county, Hampshire Cultural Trust delivered activities to young people, including contemporary dance and choreography, theatre making, original song-writing and textile creation.
The ICE Project was a three-year collaboration between Hampshire Cultural Trust and Hampshire Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, provided by Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
The beautiful film below features the young people involved sharing how they benefitted from the project – from creating friendships and helping young people relax, to enabling them to be themselves and providing an outlet for emotion, it’s clear the legacy is profound. HAVE A WATCH!
Children’s Mental Health Week has been emphasising the importance of supporting young people with their wellbeing since 2015, and the idea that taking part in arts and cultural activity is good for health and wellbeing isn’t new. But it is an idea we think is worth shouting about!
Find out more:
Artfulscribe’s online events
Southampton’s Mayflower 400 programme
Plymouth Music Zone’s Extraordinary Times Videos
Theatre Alibi’s Down to Earth resource pack
Fluid Motion Theatre’s resource pack
Statistics on children’s mental health
Arts Council England’s evidence review
Arts Council England’s blogs on the arts and wellbeing
