NEW VISUALITY AND NEW APPROACHES
Addressing Youth Unemployment and PovertythroughCreativeArtsinYork
Unemployment significantly contributes to poverty, particularly affecting younger generations in marginalized communities within York The recent economic downturn has had a lasting negative impact on young people in the city's five most deprived wards, a trend we anticipate will continue Young people who do not pursue education, employment, or training after age 16 are particularlyvulnerabletopoverty,evenasthe economyrecovers
Barriers to Employment and Skills Development
Akeychallengeidentifiedbyoneinfiveyoung people working with us is that the format or content of existing employment training courses hinders their learning and employability skill development. Factors contributing to this include the learning style, relationships with agencies, the training environment, and the course content, all of which can lead to a lack of interest and enjoyment. To counter these issues, our sessions are designed to be energetic, fun, and relaxed, maximizing enjoyment while enabling skill acquisition from accredited teachers.
GrowingNeedforNewApproaches
Recent collaborations with the Inclusivity Officer and the Community Leisure Officer (Children and Young People) at City of York Council have confirmed a growing need for newwaystoengageyoungpeople Thisneed has become even more pressing due to recent service cutbacks and the temporary suspensionofservicesbyyouthgroups
A Creative Solution: Arts-Based Engagement
In response to this, 20 young people expressedinterestindevelopingtheirskillsin the arts, learning visual expression, and exploring pathways into creative industries Our participants knew that they benefit from increased self-esteem and confidence through this project Everyone involved reported a greater feeling of selfdetermination and control, with independent ideas on how to utilize various arts-based disciplines
PartnershipsandOpportunities
We established connections with a small number of city-centre creative businesses eager to host our participants at prearranged events, with community arts projectssuchasArtSpaceandArtCampalso offer volunteering opportunities. York College's Art Departments are keen to provide introductory workshops, creating further avenues into employment or education.
YORK WEDDING AND EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY
“It was great to come in and work with the young people Phones have revolutionized our approach to cameras, but you just can’t beat the feel of a proper SLR, and the depth of field with the lens, and the quality of the results We all had a go at product photography, and then we did portraits, and lastly we took 7 participants out with us for weddings over the summer. It was a cracking experience for everyone involved.” Jason King, York Wedding Photography, https://www.facebook.com/yorkweddingphotog raphy/
S N A P A T A N Y M I N U T E
"Painting may not be the first thing that springs to mind for a young person who wants to build confidence to get back into thinking about voluntary options and pathways, but we found it the perfect portal The early sessions helped break the ice, and it was just a case of pushing colour around, and enjoying the process We all turned our easels around and put the work on the wall and pretended we were at an exhibition event. It was a real confidence builder."
Greg McGee, Artist
“I haven’t done Art since Year 9. We had a good long talk about the kind of work we wanted to do I personally preferred working with the rest of the group, collaborating and making collages It was interesting to see people make really deep and thoughtful pieces.” Abdul, York
Thank you, Bettys and Taylors Group Community Fund
We focused on fun, creativity, and employability and skills development and we NAILED it!
Our participants have gone onto York College, more volunteering opportunities, or started Internships. We couldn’t have done it without you.
Greg McGee, NEW VISUALITY
