A chance to CREATE

CREATE: a creative arts programme including dance, fashion, spoken word, lyric-writing and music.

After running a similar project as a pilot, coupled with our research with young people, we found that there are just not enough opportunities in the creative arts in south Brum. So InUnity decided to bring it!

The plan? For the young people to spend the first 2 weeks of the project having taster sessions of all the workshops and by week 3 be ready to commit to one art form to develop.

The reality was it turned out that the young people ended up enjoying all the art forms and struggled to choose one! It wasn’t feasible for them to do all three because as it was only a 10-week project the quality of the work would have been compromised.

So, after 7 weeks of hard work and dedication and the young people were ready to perform; this was the week that we all went into lockdown. No chance to perform & we’re still waiting for that opportunity. But Create did more than provide a chance to perform.

We noticed changes in most of the young people. Yes, they gained new founded skills in their chosen art form but there are other changes too. Better manners. Being more positive & confident when they entered the room. Making new friends and building on positive relationships. Working together as a team.

So, although we were unable to do the final showcase, these young people have worked hard and were more than ready to put on a show. But moreover, they are stronger, more confident young people. JOB DONE.