Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge Bridges

Inspired by the Kettle’s Yard founding ethos that ‘art is in our everyday’, the Bridges project is using art to create stepping-stones for discussion and connection with and between young people in Cambridge. Through direct engagement with an artist-in-residence and frequent links with Kettle’s Yard, Bridges will position art as an everyday tool for reflection, connection, and stability, supporting young people’s self-confidence and agency, and developing ownership of their cultural capital. The programme is involving a group of 15 Year 9 students together with staff at North Cambridge Academy, a multi-academy trust school (for ages 11-16) in North Cambridge. A smaller group of up to 10 Young Artist Mentors (aged 16-19) has been recruited from local sixth form colleges and other FE and community settings. The aspiration is that the artist-in-residence is a mentor for the older students, who in turn gradually begin to mentor the younger students, supporting their engagement and providing a bridge to connect with their community, with each other, and with the cultural capital of their city.