Participatory Art Brings Young Participants with ACEs Come Together at ATTUNE
Helston's cultural hub, CAST, became the setting for an inspiring celebratory event led by creative practitioners from Falmouth University on ATTUNE project last week. The evening not only displayed the artistic outcomes of photography, animation, and dance workshops but also delved into the impactful narratives stemming from Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).
The event was orchestrated by Karen Brett, Kathy Nicholls, and Ruth Pethybridge, a creative force from the Dance & Choreography team at Falmouth University.
“We don’t want to be put in a room and talk about things that make us more depressed. So, they assured the activities are going to be fun, artsy. It really brings us together.”
During the day, young participant shared their thoughts on the initiative, emphasizing the importance of creating a positive space, “Even though we were talking about tough stuff, they made it really casual. The news is so depressing, everything is so depressing. We don't want to be put in a room and talk about things that make us more depressed. So, they assured the activities are going to be fun, artsy. It really brings us together."
Describing the profound themes uncovered during the project, Katherine Nicholls shared her role and insights into the transformative animation workshop held over the summer. The program was a six-week workshop to make an animated film, and each participant had an opportunity to tell their individual story. Five took up that opportunity.
"One person felt kind of invisible in the rush of daily life, while another had a suit of armor, a metaphorical shield against the challenges they faced daily. The goal was to give voice to these artistic expressions often seen as 'extras' in the project,” said Nicholls.
The celebratory event at CAST was a resounding success, with Ruth Pethybridge organizing a lively and enlightening atmosphere. Ruth spoke about her intentions for the evening: ‘it was important to us that, as well as providing important data, the young people’s work got viewed in its own right as artistic outputs. They really did us and themselves proud, I was so humbled by the creative risks they were willing to take in this work and wanted to share and celebrate that with a wider community beyond the university’
Karen and Katharine joined in a panel discussion after the screening, featuring young participants from each workshop. Emphasizing the significance of the young participants' involvement, Karen expressed, “I felt it was important to give the Young people that I worked with something back – a space of their own - a photographic zine room that encompassed large prints on the walls, zines displayed for the audience to look through at their own pace and an additional screen presenting the powerful statements that the young people expressed during their workshops. It was such an emotional experience for all, to spend time in this room with the YP and their proud mums who took pride in seeing the importance of sharing this impactful work with others.”
Katharine reflected on the evening, saying, "The atmosphere was quite informal, and young people were absolutely key. They made the audience laugh and gave funny but poignant answers." Perrin Hooper who participated in the dance project shared how they felt empowered by working on the choreography and left the project with increased body confidence and understanding of their capacity to support their wellbeing through movement’.
Highlighting the delightful turn of events during the panel, Katharine added, "I had answers prepared, but I didn't need to use them. The young people did such a good job answering questions; it was nice in many ways that we didn't know what to expect."