Getting creative to build confidence at The Shack
Seven young people from The
Shack Youth Services' school holiday program had fun, made friends, and sold their own
t-shirt designs as part of a five-week workshop run by local artists.
The Uplift project was formed
by a partnership between The
Shack and Enactus, a student
organisation at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) supporting positive
social change.
Building
creativity and confidence
The Uplift project, led by
local artists, used creativity to engage young people, help them express
themselves, and develop confidence.
Community Development worker Megan
Bellamy learnt about the partnership opportunity through her network. She met
with the project students from Enactus, worked with The Shack staff team to set
up the program, and enrolled seven young clients in the workshop.
All materials were sourced
and provided by the Enactus project team and artists delivering the program.
Encouraging
artist entrepreneurs
The artists introduced the
young people to the creative process, taking them through guided activities to
help unlock their imagination.
The results were unique,
personal ideas translated into designs that could be screen-printed onto
t-shirts. Each young artist was encouraged to learn about the business side of
the artistic process by selling their custom t-shirts.
Fun,
friends, and fame
During the workshop, the
young people paired up with a screen printing buddy. Once the draft ideas were
chosen, the designs were traced on acetate and exposed.
Exposed designs were then
screen printed by the participants with the help of their buddy, and heat-set
to fix the image to the fabric.
At the end of the workshop,
the young people held an exhibition to showcase their designs and celebrate their
new skills.
Art
uplifting for all
Many of the young people
involved in programs at The Shack face challenges with anxiety, depression, and
poor social skills.
Student feedback was
overwhelmingly positive: they had a great time as they learned, built
confidence in meeting new people, and felt empowered to explore their
creativity.
The workshop was such a
success that The Shack plans to host more Uplift workshops in 2019.