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Building resilience through arts resources

Visual arts resources
  • Guides, Materials and Toolkits

During our ‘Building resilience through community arts practice‘ project we developed a number of arts resources that are free to download:

 
Visual Arts for ResilienceVisual Arts for Resilience – A guide for working with young people with complex needs, co-written with young people

An arts for resilience practice guide has been produced by the project team (including young people). It contains instructions on how to conduct a range of practical visual arts activities that we have identified as being resilience promoting. Our literature review and project findings provide an insight into the resilience benefits of participation in visual arts activities. This, combined with the resilient-based practice framework we used, could support targeting of interventions for social workers and others who work with young people with complex needs.
CC_Report_cover Building resilience through community arts practice– Connected Communities report

We found a significant existing evidence base which links visual arts practice to individual and community resilience (over 190 related references). This is dispersed across a number of fields including art therapy, social work, community health and visual arts practice. Visual art activities can be used to both educate young people about resilience and enhance young people’s overall resilience. Qualitative research material developed with young people who participated in our workshops helps to show that even short term visual arts interventions can have an impact on young people’s resilience – crucially visual arts participation was extremely beneficial to young people’s sense of belonging and their ability to cope with difficult feelings.
Film_stillThe Make Your Mark film – Rough Sea Films

This documentary about the project includes footage from the 10 weekly resilience-building arts workshops, the end of project exhibition showcasing the young people’s art work, and interviews and artists statements from the young people experiencing mental health complexities and /or learning difficulties who participated in the workshops.

Related Resources

Insiders' Guide

The Insiders’ Guide parent carer support course

Parenting has got to be one of the hardest jobs there is – and it’s tougher when you have a child with additional needs such as a disability, special educational need, complex health or behaviour issue.

The Resilient Classroom a resource pack for tutor groups and pastoral staff

The Resilient Classroom Resource

This resilient classroom resource was created and developed to provide practical help for tutors and other pastoral staff and is suitable for use in the tutor group setting. It supports the tutor group structure and helps build relationships between tutors and students. Students and heads of years have been involved, through consultation and participation, in providing useful and appropriate exercises.

Visual Arts Practice for Resilience: A guide for working with young people with complex needs

Visual Arts Practice for Resilience: A guide for working with young people with complex needs

The aim of this guide is to offer practical advice and ideas that are affordable and accessible, and can be put into practice with groups of young people. As well as showing how you might put resilience theory into practice and facilitate art based activities.

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