Young People & Creative Pathways-Cultural Alliance Workshops
/Open Space took place on Friday 3rd February 2pm-5pm at UCP (University Centre Peterborough)
Closing Words: Experimentation, Change, Think differently, Freedom, Joy, Anarchy, Self worth, Valuable experience, Equity, Excitement, Success, Confidence, Advocacy, Fulfilment, Reclaim power!, Support, Evolution, Inspiration, Discovery, Community, Recognition, Journey, Laughter
Brief: From Creative Careers to Creative Campaigns.Particularly of interest to young people, youth leaders, educators and creatives working with young people or young audiences on creative career pathways or youth voice opportunities.“Enhancing the level of creative skills as percentage of qualifications; use of cultural experience to deliver skills gaps across the Combined Authority area”AND “Create resilient, effective, inclusive leadership for culture in Peterborough”
Reflection: To be added
Topics
Expanding the reach of student publications -Trinity, Peterborough College Inside the Box Magazine
Migration: What opportunities do young people need more of to thrive in Peterborough? -Jack Tricker, Eastern Angles
Future proofing: Tech/ VR/ new tech jobs -Lee Ashton, Beat This
Opportunities 4 All -David
How important are role models & Mentoring to careers - Steph Peachy, Nene Park Trust
Blossoming the anarchy- how to create and generate opportunities outside the mainstream - Jack Wilkin, Metal
What do parents think of creative careers? What can we do about it? Kate Hall, Jumped Up Theatre
Great work experience- how do we do it? Ruth Campbell, Metal
Are there enough workshops and environments to practise creativity? -Trinity, Peterborough College
Collaboration - how can we work better together creatively to benefit the most people? -Penny Hansen, The Cresset
Response to topics
1.Expanding the reach of student publications -By Trinity, Peterborough College Inside the Box Magazine
PETERBOROUGH OPEN SPACE WRITEUP - INCREASING THE REACH OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
Getting the voice of young people out there…
Creating opportunities for students to share their opinions and views with a wider audience
Easier access to partnering with local publishing companies and media organisations e.g. Bauer, ESP
More opportunities for workshops in creative spaces e.g. social media content creation workshops, writing workshops
Talks with people who work in the industry
Connecting with other local student publications and schools
More engagement with our audience and defining ourselves as a brand more clearly
Realising it’s not just Inside The Box but the voice of every young person/student in Peterborough
Promotion/assistance/co-creation with various media/arts outlets throughout the city
2. Migration: What opportunities do young people need more of to thrive in Peterborough? Or Urban vs Rural: What do young people need more of to thrive in their hometowns? - By Jack Tricker
Young people are bored.
The roles just aren’t available & there are a lack of opportunities.
Metal ran a 6 month project but longevity is still a big issue.
How do we sustain young people when the City doesn’t?
Film, Media & Visual Art are big areas which are lacking support in Peterborough
The City is ignoring the cultural & creative scene. It shouldn’t just be the arts which supports this.
Arts education needs to be introduced earlier in schools. It usually stops at GCSE’s as well.
We need to be able to see the successes of these programme rather than testing them out over a short time. For example, young collectives are usually too short term.
How do we help young people thrive both creatively AND financially in the arts? Creativity is and can be profitable, but young people rarely know this.
More creative career options at schools.
Allow young people to ‘be loud!’
Creative companies need to come to young peoples space.
The city needs to feel more inviting.
We need long term projects which fit into peoples lifestyles. For example, it isn’t a one size fits all approach – we need to take into account gap year, coming back from University, and peoples capacity during exam periods etc.
There are different elements in a creative career which young people don’t know about.
More creative freedom spaces.
Older thinking sometimes takes over.
Businesses need to get involved in endorsing these to help change the culture of the arts.
Idea: Auctions by local artists.
Opportunities need to be advertised more. For example, coming to events, more of a social media presence etc. Advertisement doesn’t appeal to the people organisations want to work with.
It costs too much to get to a point where you have enough exposure and experience.
Create spaces where creative can be used to transform the city and make it better and more ‘at home’. This can in turn be used as creative projects. For example, under croft, benches, underpasses – lit, safe, young people friendly spaces.
Young people are usually stuck with the opportunities by the catchment area that they’re in.
Young people do not seem seen or heard enough.
3. Future proofing: Tech/ VR/ new tech jobs - By Lee Ashton https://musichackspace.org
Future proofing - how do we incorporate learning and access issues when there are constant updates in technologies and the skills needed to use them and emerging technology.
“The future is already here – it's just not evenly distributed.” - William Gibson
Limiting factors - expense, the latest tech costs the most. Plus Need people who understand it and can use it.. normally the developers etc silicon fen?? AI tools and copyright issues
Central resource hub or two - access to tech when not being used etc. library loan system possible? The Tech is constantly changing so need to keep upto date, resources,
Links with Music hack-space London https://musichackspace.org/ and local hackspace, Beat This CIC’s programmable environment and sensory installations space. Codebar https://www.codebar.io/
Investment and sponsorships from industry, local and regional for improvement in their workforce.
Out of hours and weekend access to the technology. And spaces to use those technologies.
4. Opportunities 4 All -By David
Report to be added soon.
5. How important are role models & mentoring to careers - By Steph Peachy, Nene Park Trust
Report to be added soon.
6. Blossoming Anarchy: Creating non traditional creative spaces for non-traditional arts - By Jack Wilkin, Metal
Going where people go:
Placing art in the unexpected
Places such as fast-food shops, hairdressers, shopping centres, skate parks
“There should be nowhere that is inappropriate for art”
Pop up spaces in the city centre and the townships
Opening up nature spaces
Smaller scale projects are valid – can see the immediate impact of the work
Touring work – visiting different places such as car parks, community centres
Seeing creative expression in non-creative spaces
Working in the centre of the townships – back to the purpose and way that Peterborough was originally built
Art trails that you have to go find – art placed in waiting rooms, phone boxes
How do we reach people?
Celebrating the non-traditional in the traditional spaces – having theatres and galleries signpost and celebrate the non-traditional spaces in Peterborough
Making young people have ownership of the work and arts in the city. Getting them involved and having their voices and actions included in the work.
Intersectionality – young people aren’t all the same. Be specific of what community of young people to engage with and why.
Offer non-traditional opportunities – through commissions to get involved in work and projects
Engage in those who aren’t given the opportunity to be creative. Those who don’t value their creativity or weren’t given the same opportunity as others to develop their creativity.
Building trust with young people and long term connections – it takes time and effort.
Quotes and phrases from discussions
“The random is still an experience, not everything has to be conformed”
“Removing the barrier ‘you can’t touch’” (when referring to traditional art spaces)
“Old stuff in modern spaces – oil painting in a doctor’s surgery”
Open to “compromising on your vision” when working with a community
“Sharing creative skills and talents in new ways”
“Anti-social behaviour thrives in vacant spaces”
“Freedom with funding”
“Opportunity to try things”
“The space that inspires the art” - spaces that people feel comfortable in have been spaces they’ve created work.
“Not all young go onto further education” alternative art learning.
7. What do parents think of creative careers? What can we do about it? - By Kate Hall, Jumped Up Theatre
Report to be added soon.
8. Great work experience- how do we do it? -By Ruth Campbell, Metal
Report to be added soon.
9. Are there enough workshops and environments to practise creativity?- By Daniel, design student at Peterborough College and Trinity, Peterborough College Inside the Box Magazine
Spaces to Experiment with different art forms (self-teaching):
Peterborough College's Media and Journalism Centre - Can it be opened after hours to the public? (Hackspace)
Norfolk Street - Can this be opened up to the public?
Existing Spaces are unknown
These spaces help build portfolios and gain the experience that is needed to get work experience opportunities. Once students have graduated, financial pressures make it difficult to take unpaid work experience so work experience opportunities needs to become more accessible while still studying and being financed by student loans.
Workshops:
Run by experts
Opportunities to Collaborate and Network
Lack of Opportunities
Lack of awareness of local opportunities - poor advertisement
Lack of accessible opportunities - e.g part-time, remote, flexible hours
Businesses have low awareness of local talent
"Students aren't taken seriously"
10. Collaboration - how can we work better together creatively to benefit the most people? - By Penny Hansen, The Cresset
Key words – connection, conversation, opportunities
Wants/questions:
More partnerships of groups/organisations.
More choice of career relevant skills in mainstream education.
how can out-of-the-box sessions be facilitated?
More opportunities in the city
To be seen
Spaces to work
Choices on offer
More support from organisations/businesses.
More support between artists, groups, and organisations.
More opportunities to network – artists, students, groups, and organisations.
More opportunities for participation – tasters/workshops/small performances/visits – anything to get involved in small ways/temporary jobs to network and gain experience.
Why do we have to visit other cities to see what we are asking for?
If it exists somewhere else, then it means it is possible – why can’t we have it here too?
Educational providers need to ask about students’ needs more and provide relevant and innovative arts opportunities – more practitioners engaging with future artists.
one example given: classes on how to do graffiti into the art department at college – both technique and how to do it legally and respectfully within community and in terms of existing street artists.
Another example given: arranging to shadow performers for events/performances and maybe tying this in with workshops/tasters.
Current negatives:
Things that are available are not known or not easily accessed.
Social media – drive for likes/to have followers to be seen or make money – nothing local that is helpful to counter this (at least that young people are aware of).
A sense of (unhealthy) competition with other artists, keeping to yourself and not engaging.
Everyone fighting for the same funding.
Not enough support.
Not enough spaces.
Creative skills not valued enough.
Little meaningful engagement from businesses with culture and arts to enhance city.
Entertainment and arts got people through lockdown but people turned away from valuing it again.
We don’t mix enough – people oftens stick to the same channels/organisations for communication and the people that need to hear about opportunities often don’t.
It is too hard to find anything creative in the city to be involved in – many people don’t think there is anything at all and go outside.
Potential thoughts/ideas:
Uplifting, and engaging with, each other more.
Thinking about and showcasing work and artists all year round - not just when shows are coming up or for big calendar dates.
More collaboration between departments and organisations.
e.g. media students filming backstage for behinds the scenes at productions or photography students taking promo shots for new artists or other students
This can provide work experience for students and emerging artists
Creating reciprocal opportunities
Getting the word out for yourself and others.
Actively connecting.
Competitions to both promote opportunities/groups/organisations and to encourage those that enter.
Starting conversations
with young people
between organisations and groups
ask what people want, don’t assume.
Trial weeks for opportunities, placements, and offerings.
Facilitating partnerships with other artists.
More opportunities for individuals/groups to gain creative skills or industry relevant skills.
Events like art auctions in the city.
Bringing people into the city to attend and engage.
Need to mix more
students meeting other art students between courses and outside groups
new artists having opportunities to work (temp/tasters) with established groups/organisations
No one solution – needs to be multiple solutions that cover different needs.
Have more events or spaces to have conversations – not just like Open Space - different structures work for different people.
Mix ages (young people and older), cultures, spaces, genres etc for conversations and collaborations to really hear and experience a range of things.
Changing perceptions:
There is space for all to work both independently and together.
Organisations can be an example by collaborating with each other.
Create awareness and engage more.
students/new artists don’t know about lot of things that are already available.
Don’t create and step away.
Create more long-term projects.
When pop-ups happen, people don’t often hear about them in time - work with others to get the word out.
Keep the conversation going and advertising.
Collaborations and mixed projects can create more awareness.
Changing perception for students to ask for what they want or bring ideas.
Changing the way we think about job roles and structure to fit modern lives and creative needs.
Recent collaborative project a student participated in (Between the Lines) changed their thinking about what they could do/boundaries they could cross/how they can work in the same space as other artists.
A student commented on the art displayed from Peterborough College within UCP and said they loved the displays, seeing the art made them feel more creative, enhanced the space and they would love this to be opened up to more art forms and in more spaces.
An art student commented on the city being ‘boring’ and ‘uninspiring’ to look at and asked why we can’t have more creative/diverse/interesting spaces – the city centre particularly feels unwelcoming and even hostile to young people.