Last week it was time to get excited for the fun activities of BBC Children in Need and now it’s time to share how the money raised is making a difference to young people’s lives. We have launched, ‘State of Flux’ with The Cove, a specialist inpatient unit in Heysham, for young people experiencing mental health problems and run by Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust. We are five weeks into a two-year programme where artists are working with participants to build relationships, improve self-worth and develop communication skills.
State of Flux introduces participants to their creativity through different media, disciplines and approaches. We have appointed three talented artists to lead and mentor the participant’s creativity. Luke Moore, is a professional musician and multidisciplinary collaborative artist based in Liverpool. He led the first session, starting with rhythm exercises and developing clapping into hand percussion which gave the participants the initial incite to start creating and developing their own piece of music.
Dance artist, Amber Callard has introduced movement. Conveying meetings and interactions inspired by drawings created by a patient, which focus on exploring new worlds hidden behind closed doors. Amber, is an Outreach Facilitator for the North West Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) Scheme based at The Lowry.
Stuart Sutton, an international film maker, is helping the group to develop the drawings into animations. Experimenting with green screen filming we are able to bring the movement and music together in a short film. Stuart, who is based in Cumbria works with youth groups to realise the potential of film and digital arts for positive change in people’s lives.
As one door closes, a new door opens and the State of Flux project continues to bring creativity, opportunity and hope to the participants.
