What? Creative summer holiday activities for children and young people with limited access to artistic opportunities
When? 2022
Where? Community centres in Keighley, Bradford
Our Aims
Our Summer Activities Programmes in Keighley aimed to support and add value to local summer holiday offerings for children and young people who have limited access to artistic opportunities.
We set out to deliver stimulating, hands on and lively activities that would be suitable for large, mixed-age groups including drop-ins. The activities also aimed to empower young people to speak up and have their voices heard in a fun and creative way, outside of a traditional education setting.
What we did
We partnered with Highfield Community Association, Sangat Centre and Keighley Living, three community groups who were all recipients of HAF funding (holiday activities and food programme). We worked with these community groups to develop and provide holiday activities and meals to young people in a welcoming and safe environment.
Our multitalented team consisted of artist Naseem Darbey, poet Nabeela Ahmed and youth worker Sophie Powell. Together, they led the children and young people through their activities to create largescale comic strips and characters which captured the issues they were passionate about. The activities explored what they wanted to protect and change about Keighley and the wider world.
This project also conducted two sessions at Cliffe Castle, facilitated by writer and teacher Shabnam Ahsan. These sessions involved creative writing activities inspired by the museum’s collection.
Through this project, we engaged 74 children and young people aged 6-13 years in creative activities over the summer holidays. The artwork that participants created also went on display at the Keighley Arts and Film Festival.
Impact & feedback
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Local young people enjoyed developing new skills and friendships during the summer holidays
“It was important that children that took part in the activity came from the local area and that they enjoyed themselves, met new friends and learned new skills in a safe and nurturing environment. The children who took part felt comfortable and were able to share ideas and thoughts about their town and explore new ideas and experiences.”
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Participants improved their communication skills both within groups and in presentations to wider audiences
“The children worked in small groups to create a collaborative artwork – they communicated their ideas to the facilitators and each other. They gained skills in communication, listening, using art materials and new language/words to explain their ideas.” Sarah Deane – KHL
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The young people worked collaboratively with other local children, forming bonds and inspiring each other
“The children had to work together and produced impressive displays which they were proud of. They encouraged and motivated each other and respected each other’s contributions”. Riasat Ali – Sangat Centre