Let's Create

[Northumberland] 2007

Northumberland Children's Fund commissioned Helix Arts to design and deliver a programme of arts workshops with four of its services, each with a different artistic discipline and working towards a celebratory event in November 2007. The emphasis of the programme was on participation and process and focused on parents and carers as well as children to provide a creative way of learning together that was beneficiary led.

Let's Create aimed to provide young people and/or parents/carers with the opportunity to:

• engage with creative experiences in artistic disciplines specific to each individual group;
• develop new skills and interests;
• gain experience of working alongside professional artists;
• improve confidence and self esteem;
• improve communication and social skills;
• use creativity as a mechanism to gain the thoughts and opinions of the user groups on what makes an effective prevention service.

The Let's Create programme involved the following groups:

Ears 2 U Participation Service which supports children and young people to have a say and become involved in decisions which affect them. They worked with drama practitioner Rosa Stourac McCreery to create a short, modern-day version of Cinderella.

InPact provides a single point of contact for information, advice and support for families of children with special needs and disabilities. They worked with photographer Louise Hepworth to create a series of photographs of and by the participants.

"I found out I could do things and they were good for me and made me feel better. The sessions have given me the confidence to go out and do more."
Parent, Let's Create project

Scotland Gate is an isolated housing estate two miles from Bedlington and a former coalfield town. They had fun making kites with kite-maker Frances Anderson.

Ability to Play provides new sport and physical activity sessions for children and young people with disabilities and special needs. They worked with film-makers IF Films to document their activities.

The project ended with a celebratory event held at Alnwick Gardens in November 2007. The photographs from InPact were exhibited; Ears 2 U performed their play; delegates had a chance to try their hand at kite-making; and the Ability to Play film was screened. Also shown was a film of the whole programme, created by IF Films and capturing the processes that each group went through during the workshops.