Creative Arts & Action Jam - October 28th-31st 2024

The Creative Arts and Action Jam is a transformative youth initiative developed in partnership with The Venture Centre, funded by the National Lottery's Million Hours Fund. This programme was designed to offer young people in Gloucester a safe, engaging, and inspiring environment during the October half-term, 2024. Young people had the opportunity to participate in open-access, drop-in sessions that blended creative arts, physical movement, and music, all while encouraging community connections and empowering young participants to express themselves.

The programme included:

PICTURE THAT:CREATIVE PHOTO SESSIONS (WITH GEORGIA WILLIAMS - SM)

4-Day Visual Exploration through photography. Levelling up young people’s skills as a visual creators. These sessions were about using different tools and techniques to show off young people’s unique perspectives of Gloucester Park. We used a mix of photography techniques and styles including disposable cameras, iphones and cyanotypes to explore how to capture the city from different angles and moods. This was coupled with some high energy physical arts workshops. Led by international artists in parkour, acrobatics, sports pole and calisthenics.

The week culminated in an exhibition hung from the bars where visuals met movement set to a killer soundtrack.

EXHIBITION

Experience the City Through the lens of Gloucester’s young people Join us for "Concrete narratives", an immersive exhibition showcasing the creative visions of local young people, as they transform the Bar Park space in Gloucester Park into a vibrant gallery of photography and movement. This unique event is the culmination of a week-long series of creative sessions, where participants have explored and expressed their perspectives on city life through various visual and physical art forms.

This is more than just an exhibition—it's a celebration of youth culture, creativity, and community. "Concrete Narratives" is an invitation to see your city through new eyes, to appreciate the diverse talents of its younger residents, and to support the development of a vibrant cultural hub right here in your neighbourhood.

Addressing Key Challenges

The project stems from the need to provide young people, particularly those aged 11 to 18, with meaningful and positive alternatives to anti-social behaviour in areas where they may be most at risk. By offering accessible, varied and fun sessions, Concrete Narratives not only engaged young people in constructive activities, exposed them to new disciplines and art forms and helped develop their creative and physical skills, within a safe and supportive environment. Funded by The Million Hours Fund, supported by the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) and The National Lottery Community Fund, specifically aims to extend the reach of youth work and provide spaces where young people can thrive.