ART FOR CHANGE
Youth-Led: Youth identify issues affecting their mental health and decide which one to address
Arts based: Youth choose an art medium through which to express their views and take action
Civic Action: Youth share their story of change and their artwork to directly address the issue
May 11th to June 22nd 2024 *This Course is being CPD Accredited
SCHEDULE:
DATES: May 11th, 18th, June 1st, 8th, 15th, June 22nd
TIME: Saturdays, 10:00 - 15:30
VENUE: Queens University Belfast
Art for Change will empower young people (12 - 18 years) in/from Northern Ireland to:
FEEL: express their views about issues affecting their mental health and the consequent mental health challenges they face; learn self-reflection, mindfulness and positive affirmation strategies for self-care that help them nurture their mental health; identify an issue that bothers them that they want to take action on as a group
IMAGINE: brainstorm a way to make it better; choose an artform through which they address the issue as a group
DO: learn Design Thinking strategies to take action on an issue affecting their mental health through an art medium of their choice; develop skills in chosen art media; work as a team to complete their project; prepare a presentation and display for the showcase event
SHARE: publicly share their artwork to lead social action by encouraging audience response, action and involvement to further address the issue; inspire others to say, 'I CAN'!
OVERVIEW
YOUTH ORGANISATION/SCHOOL REGISTRATION + PARENT CONSENT
Thanks to generous funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and with the support of the School of Arts, English and Languages at Queen’s University Belfast, we have spaces for 5 funded groups of youth and supporting adults.
Each group will consist of:
5 youth (12 - 18 years) from a Community Organisation who also attend the same school
1 Youth Worker from the Community Organisation
1 teacher from the school that the youth attend
The group will also be supported by an artist who is skilled and experienced in the artform they choose to express themselves through. ie music, visual art, drama, poetry/spoken word, multidisciplinary performance.
We also have spaces for 3 more school groups through paid participation. Each group should comprise of 5 youth, 1 teacher and 1 volunteer.
We are recruiting 4 artists as follows:
musician
visual artist
actor, poet/spoken word artist
multidisciplinary performer
Artists will need to submit their:
artist CV's
an example of their socially engaged artwork
experience of working with youth
DBS check
a motivation statement.
ARTIST APPLICATION
We are seeking partners from businesses/corporates to invest in the wellbeing, artistic development and civic leadership skills of our youth by:
Sponsoring participants packs that include personalised superhero t-shirts, journals, mugs, tote bags and learning materials.
Sponsoring healthy lunches and snacks
Joining the sessions to empower the youth to achieve their social impact through opportunities to share their project in the local community
Sponsoring a group to attend the Be The Change Celebration in Dubai this December