“The concept of art as activism is not new but it is just as relevant today. On a global scale, art can cross the boundaries of language, culture and world views to send a message and make people feel something. As well as the impact of the final art piece, creating art is inspiring in itself. You get to use your voice to send a message that matters to you. The act of creating opens the door to engaging with a topic on a deeper level.
That’s why I’m so passionate about the work I do on campaigns for organisations and art pieces for schools and youth groups. When I work with charitable organisations, I can further the impact of their campaign. When I work with schools, I co-create with young people, giving them a chance to voice what matters to them and engage with big topics in an inspiring way.
Using art to inspire change and empower the next generation is steeped in history. I’m able to make it relevant and impactful today.”
It’s really important to me to work in schools, sharing positive messages with the younger generation about their rights and planting seeds of hope, strength, and optimism. I also want to reach out to young artists to let them know that creativity is super important and to encourage aspiring artists to keep drawing and pursue their dreams. I want to create art that has a positive and lasting impact.
The History of Using Art to Inspire Change
Artists who have used their art for good
Here’s some of my favourite artist
Corita Kent
Corita Kent was an artist teacher and advocate for social justice. She became a Catholic nun at the age of eighteen and went to teach in orders school, eventually leading the art department, she took
inspiration from popular culture and incorporated messages of hope and equality in vibrant serigraph prints.
Faith Ringgold
Faith Ringgold is an award-winning American artist who works in a variety of different media, painting quilting, sculpture and performance arts. Ringgold throughout her career has fought for radical and gender equality.
Elizabeth Catlett
Elizabeth, Throughout her career Catlett used art in support of issues that mattered to her – freedom, race and ethnicity, feminism and maternalism – and fought
oppression, racism, class and gender inequality.
Art pieces that shaped the world
So many truly courageous inspiring artists,
Here’s a couple of my favourites
Shepard Fairey
Frank Shepard Fairey is an American contemporary artist, activist and founder of OBEY Clothing who emerged from the skateboarding scene.
Norman Rockwell
Today, Norman Rockwell remains primarily known for his charming Post covers. However, his Civil Rights- -era paintings – especially The Problem We All Live With – are among his most powerful artworks.
Ruby Bridges is wearing a white dress and trainers emphasising her innocence in the face of adversity. The adult Marshals are cut off at the head to showcase Bridge’s perspective of the situation.
Racist graffiti, limited freedom of movement, and racial segregation in schools were a reality in South America in the 1960s.
The work I do with Charities
I have worked with many charitable organizations that are passionate about the arts and empowering positive impact. I have facilitated art workshops for groups of various sizes and ages with a wide range of capabilities. I believe in the power of co-creation, providing communities with a safe space to encourage people to have a voice through art.
A couple of examples of this kind of charity work.
The Lowry young artist
I was the Artist Lead on a program for the Lowry Young artist young.
The Lowry prioritises projects which specifically enable young people to have access to life-changing opportunities; to learn new skills, improve their wellbeing and to have a voice through the art that they make. I worked with a group Exhibited in the gallery,
Worked on art sessions through Mental Health Awareness Week focusing on arts for well-being and activities that build self-esteem
Throughout my time at The Lowry, I created bespoke creative engaging workshop opportunities for targeted young people.
The Wishing Tree project, Planting Seeds for Change:
Was a project I worked on with Salford CVS, and Manchester City Council Hubs with a belief in the arts as a tool for social change.
The Wishing Tree Project, named “Planting Seeds for Change”, was a collaborative project between The Lowry, Salford CVS family hubs, and Salford council. I created an art installation that travelled around thirteen Manchester community hubs, engaging with children, young people, and families to write their wishes and post them into a post box as part of the art installation. The installation was designed to be colourful, welcoming, and interactive to make families feel safe to engaged.
The project’s questions were designed in consultation with staff from The Lowry and the Salford Family Partnership. Experts working in Salford within established organisations collaborated to design the questions. The questions were open-ended, expediting comprehensive and reflective feedback. The questions were: What do you wish to access for your family? What do you wish to improve for your family? What do you wish to share with other families?
After the installation had toured, I designed an art installation focused on the outcomes. The installation was colourful and impactful, highlighting the four main outcomes: better health and well-being, access to creative activities, access to sports, and safe outdoor spaces. I created four large flowers, bold, and impactful to highlight the councillor’s areas that needed improvement. On the exhibition day, I asked leaders to make suggestions on how they could help improve their organisations and areas of the key areas.
“I created a colourful wooden tree that is now a permanent structure in The Lowry. The tree has wishes hanging from its branches, and I designed it to include a permanent post box so that the project can continue to collect wishes to improve the community areas.”
How I Use Art as a Vehicle for Change
I’ve had the privilege of being part of some amazing projects that have allowed my art to make a real difference. Here are a few highlights:
– RFK Human Rights UK: I got to illustrate a book and create posters that serve as educational tools for schools and beyond.
– Parky Life: As part of the Havas group Leading in Healthcare Communications, I had the chance to create illustrations that focus on the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease but with a positive twist.
– Baron Quays year-long initiative: I had the opportunity to create uplifting and energizing art that brought smiles to the community of Northwich. The “Project Happy” involved creating colourful and engaging murals around Cheshire to boost morale.
I love that my art style and approach make these important conversations more accessible through playfulness and positivity. My style of art and style makes these deeper conversations more accessible due to the playfulness and positivity
My co-creation process with groups of young people, is highly important to me and the students
highlight the power of creativity in helping young people think deeper about important issues and develop their voice.
I am extremely passionate about working on meaningful art campaigns that aim to uplift and inspire people. If you have any such project in mind that requires collaboration, I would be more than happy to get involved. Get in touch and let us together create something truly amazing and impactful.