TVA works in education in its widest sense: within mainstream education, special schools, children’s centres, PRU’s, youth centres & services and youth justice to name but a few. We believe that creative participation can support people of all ages and abilities, and is especially transformational for young people who have challenging, complex and often chaotic lives. Please visit the Inclusion Case Studies for further examples of this work.
stART
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Tees Valley Arts are working in partnership with Middlesbrough Integrated Youth Services on the stART project.
The stART Project works with young people aged 17 to 19 categorised as Not in Education, Employment or Training, and delivers a package of creative activities and learning. stART takes place in TVA's art room, equipped and furnished with funds from the LSC, the Northern Rock Foundation, and the Cultural Volunteering Project.
Workshops take place with professional artists and involve fun and accessible art based exercises that develop individual creative skills building confidence and self-esteem. Other activities include games and exercises that use an informal approach to encourage positive engagement and reflective thinking, whilst developing pre-employment skills such as teamwork, leadership and communication skills.
All the young people work as individuals and teams to achieve the Bronze Arts Award.
The award involves taking part in the arts, going to arts events, researching an arts hero or heroine and sharing skills with others. Participants’ achievements are recorded in a diary, including records of art work they have seen and been part of, their personal reflections on the process and research material. Learners do not need high literacy skills, and can create their diaries through visual or recorded means.
TVA have found the Arts Award to be an excellent means for adding value to outreach and engagement projects that target young people. The award enables young people to crystallise skills and progress made during an arts project. Through the Arts Award process young people learn to think in a down to earth manner and to validate their thoughts and opinions building a sense of cultural entitlement.
Further information about stART can be found on the stART blog.
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Moving On
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Thanks to funding from Awards for All and PAYP (Positive Activities for Young People), artists Vicky Holbrough and Nicola Parkin were able to work with a group of young people involved with the Leaving Care Team at Darlington. The young people successfully achieved their Bronze Arts Award, which is a level 1 qualification, and enjoyed using a variety of visual arts techniques and materials throughout the project, with visiting artists Francesca Hudson and Adrian Moule both leading a couple of sessions. Visits to BALTIC & Lazarides, with a stop-off at Angel of the North on the way home, as well as Darlington Arts Centre enabled the group to see artists work in professional venues.
The projects’ aims were to help give this group (who are at a complex transitional stage in their lives) a range of skills to help them to move on positively, adding value to the dedicated work of the Leaving Care Team:
- Confidence and Self-esteem
- Communication skills, teamwork and leadership
- Enjoyment and cultural engagement/ entitlement
- A qualification (Bronze Arts Award – NQF Level 1)
One participant is now studying art & design at college and another achieved their Silver Arts Award on another project straight after.
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