The Mildred Fund pilot project

A pilot project with Turner Contemporary focused on working with children not attending school. A programme was developed in partnership with Arts Education Exchange and Virtual Schools Kent. Launched in October 2022, the project responded to the needs and interests of some of the most underserved young people in Thanet, engaging a small group on a weekly basis. The project:

• Highlighted the increased complexity for any arts organisations and partners working with underserved young people today
• Exposed the gaps in existing systems and structures that would usually support young people

It also revealed that:

• Youth partners that have survived cuts are under extreme strain to meet multiple demands
• Those working in arts and the cultural sector have to know more, do more, and take on multiple roles that may require additional training/support that step outside usual models
• Post-pandemic, it appears to take longer for young people to acclimatise themselves to learning environments that are not schools
• Regularity and consistency matters
• There is a genuine systemic struggle to enable young people to learn away from classroom environments
• There are ever more digital ways for young people to focus their attention. Any youth arts project is competing with this attention and in a form where achievement and success are not instantly gratified.

Impact on the young people involved

Evaluation suggests that the young people involved did benefit from the project. This was highlighted in terms of their personal, social and creative wellbeing and gave us an early opportunity to explore these aspects. We found that the programme built relationships beyond usual friendship groups, and that participants:

• Enjoyed the unexpected creative content – (new input they were not getting at school)
• Experienced positive trusting relationships with staff/adults
• Gained confidence
• Received positive feedback
• Had opportunity for positive emotional experiences through making art
• Enjoyed developing their own decision-making and self-expression through the processes of creativity and making
• Gained a sense of community through collaborative activity
• Felt valued
• Gained creative skills they did not have before

The programme also successfully enabled students to visit the gallery independently, generating a sense of ownership that they had not previously felt.

The young participants told us:

‘I feel safe & happy whilst I am there and feel comfortable to express myself.’

‘Before I went to Creative Lab, I didn't do anything outside the home on my own. It gave me a positive activity outside home, gave me confidence to join in life again (a bit more).’

‘It's a support system - helping me gain confidence for other aspects of life.’

‘It’s building my confidence and I feel better, I feel like I can do new things now.’

‘I get positive feedback.’

‘I’m safe and welcomed.’

One of the parents speaking about their participating child told us:

‘It is a great thing that she can rely on one day of the week to have a good time and be able to express herself in a creative way – this is a big part of who she is.’