Feedback

Hi Annahita

The new question: "How can teenagers be encouraged to build their awareness of and develop their own identities and their cultural identities through the use of crafting?"

I like this, mainly becasue it is more open-ended, and so gives you the opportunity to let the rssults of your reserch determine the way in whichyou continue to address your question.

"I am also working on a new idea that I would like to present to theheadmaster of a local school that is currently refurbishing, in which I have a workshop with the teenagers about identity (key questions outlined in myblog), and then each teenager is given a piece of a puzzle on which they need to visually, and texturally represent who they are and the culture theyfeel they belong to. I would like these pieces to be joined together tocreate a large installation for the school. I have spoken to a therapistabout the issues that may arise from investigating such areas and feelingswith young people, and have come up with a series of exercises that build onthe positivity of hopes, dreams and aspirations. "

This sounds like a very valid experiment. Again, you seem now to be findingways in which to discover how the teenagers themselves are best able toexpress themselves through craft, rather than arriving with a pre-set
agenda. I think this has to be a good thing.　

"Getting access to the teenagers is very difficult, they are naturally less likely to get involved in craft activities and are not usually organised bytheir parents, have their own lives! The studio I was hoping to work with
are still setting up, I will still keep in touch with them, and hopefully I can set up an evening workshop with their apprentices. But I have found a youth club who would like to participate of the summer holidays, so fingers crossed!"

Good luck with this initiative. I have the feeling that regular, low-level access to teenagers over the summer period will really drive your project forward. Remember that, in the final analysis, it is the quality rather than
quantity of the evidence that you adduce in response to your question which is of the greatest value and importance.

See you at the next tutorial - but do please get back to me if any of the above is not clear (or helpful)!

With best regards as ever

Richard