October 2011

Time is really running out, there are literally only 5 weeks left till the exhibition!

Firstly exhibition planning, luckily everyone seems to have suddenly woken up to what is involved and has got engaged.  This has made a dramatic difference, immediately we have got more sponsors, actually money as well as goods.  The layout is seriously underway, the branding and graphics are in place, and shortly I will be able to start the PR campaign.  The website is getting there slowly, it's such hard work with so many opinions to consider.  The viral is ready though, and the facebook volunteers are doing a great job. 

Now for my project, I am finding it really hard to write down everything I have found out from testing my artefacts, the workshops, with a variety of audiences, from different backgrounds and with different age groups.  I think this is partly due to the emotional attachment I have to my project and the emotional reactions I have had to the young people I have met and their stories.  Although I really feel that what I am doing is helping the young people involved, I also feel slightly uncomfortable sharing their stories for my Masters.  I'm not sure I prepared myself for the realities of working with young people from backgrounds so different to my own.  The reason this project is so important to me is because of my personal identity journey.  Growing up in a totally white middle class area, going to a very conservative private school and my parents almost denying their background to ensure that as a family we fitted in.  I do not and never have felt English, but I can not say I am Iranian, as I know almost nothing about that culture.  I grew up feeling confused and lacking confidence in my own abilities, and only through a period of critical reflection have I grown into a more confident adult.  This period of reflection included using sketching to express myself.  A lot of my sketches relate to appearance, I think this is because as a fair skinned Iranian, my identity was even more blurred.  I start my workshops with the image of myself looking in the mirror and a featureless face staring back at me; I use this to help explain to the young people that I really didn't know who I was and explain how we will begin the process of finding out what's really important to them and how they can build on this.

There is so much more I need to do with these workshops and with the young people in my area.  Firstly the fact that the size of the groups really nearly needs to be reduced, to ensure that I can fully engage and support with each individual, and also to slightly change the group dynamics in some groups that do not particularly lend to honest and frank discussions.  I want to really build long term relationships where I can help mentor and develop these teenagers, and slowly incorporate other creative members of the community to help them with their journeys.  I really underestimated how long I would need with the groups, not just in one session, but how many repeated sessions would be  needed.  This makes me more convinced than ever that the best time to work through these issues would be at school during weekly sessions, in a period normally set aside for General Studies or Personal and Social Education. 

On a more positive note I am extremely pleased with the workshops that I have done and the creative critical reflection of the teenagers involved.  It has been difficult to record everything as a number of the young people involved can not be photographed or identified due to their complex family histories.  But I hope that I have managed to capture the most important moments and reflective periods by working with tools such as post it notes and worksheets.

I feel very proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone to work with young people without training and in an area where I knew that a larger percentage of the teenagers would have had difficult situations at home.  I did not have previous experience in running workshops or working with young people, yet I feel I have managed to successfully engage with a number of young people and have helped them produce T-shirts that represent a variety of important elements, such as:
Personal Identities
Relationships
Diversity
Values
Aspirations
This is done through the use of critical reflection, and a variety skills and processes.  Some of these skills are practical, such as sewing, others are more theoretical, processes that open natural doors, different in each individual, allowing them to develop more complex ideas.  Some young people do not take this step, but they all learn new practical skills, which I hope in time will benefit them.  I have been surprised by the number of teenagers that did not know how to sew, something I learned at an extremely young age, how to thread a needle and tie a knot in the thread was totally new to a lot of them.

I think my project still has a long way to go, the workshops will constantly evolve, and often evolve during the workshop itself depending on the young people involved.  I also hope in the new year to develop the music and drama based workshops. 

Wardrobe

Still no responses from any of the suppliers of the wardrobe, and nothing appropriate on Freecycle and Gumtree!

Creative Review Banner

I have spent a lot of time this week on the creative review ad, the website showcase, case studies, and preparing for the PR campaign.

Our ad will go live on Monday, and from then I hope to start sending out press releases.

We have had a lot of conversations this week over email about our sponsors, Nokia, Swatch and Natwest.  So far as none are confirmed I have not written a press release to announce our exhibition, but as soon as they are, I will prepare something to be signed off.  We have at last also found a drinks sponsor!!

Images from Identi-tee Workshop

New York

I went to New York for the weekend, popped into the Guggenheim and MoMA, wandered around, all good for inspiration.

I was drawn by Fluxus and George Maciunas, he defined Fluxus products as work that would occur as a result of performance activities, or as elements of participation environments... I really felt this resonated with what I am trying to represent in the exhibition of my workshops.

I especially thought that the wardrobe idea, and filling the drawers with things to represent the different workshop exercises was reminiscent of his Fluxkits or Fluxus boxes, in which Maciunas collected printed cards, games, and ideas, these were all placed in small wooden boxes.  Examples below:

Dimensionalising the workshops

I have spent most of this weekend contacting the company that makes the children's wardrobe I would like to use for my exhibition to no avail.  I have also contacted all the UK suppliers of this wardrobe.  I have signed up to all the Freecycle groups in my area, in the hope that someone else is throwing out a children's wardrobe, and have been checking Gumtree ads. 

Reflection since last workshop

There is so much to think about after everything encounter with a new group of young people.  Each individual is just that, and I find it extremely difficult to spread myself across the whole group to ensure everyone gets the most they can.  I feel that smaller groups would probably work better.  Not only are we discussing, thinking and developing quite complex thoughts and feelings, but the young people are also learning new skills.  I have been surprised by the lack of craft skills in this peer group.  Only one new how to sew, and most of them had not used a lot of the craft materials I had bought with me.  They each have such interesting stories and backgrounds, and with more one on one time I feel I could really help them reflect deeply on their identities and communities.  All exercises have worked extremely well, there was a good mix of fun and concentration, however, they all take so much longer than you think they will.  I also underestimated the effect of group dynamics.  As this group was one that has been meeting regularly for some time, I thought that would all be at ease with each other and feel confident to express themselves in front of the group.  Some of the girls are extremely confident, but others painfully shy, and in a large group it is difficult to look after everyone's needs.  I found it easy to develop a good rapport with the girls, and feel confident that they enjoy my company and are listening to what I am saying.  I would really enjoy working longer term with each group to develop each element of personal identity in more detail.  I would also like to develop my previous idea of music-based workshops, as music, singing and dancing are extremely important to this peer group, led by their love of celebrity and pop stars. 

Identi-tee Images from Workshops

Sketches for our ad campaign

Exhibition layout - draft

I've sketched something up in illustrator for the group, now that I know wxactly how many places are needed.  This version gives more space than the initial 1mx1m the venue team suggested. Each person gets 1.8 square metres. 

Possible exhibition ideas

Possible plans for the exhibition space

Exhibition synopsis

The below is my first draft 350 words to be used in the exhibition/catalogue:

Identi-tee explores how creative critical reflection can be used in contemporary society to help teenagers build an awareness of self and identity in relation to both their culture and their community, in turn it looks at ways for teenagers and their communities to work collectively to produce work that reflects their experiences and the places they live. 

A strong sense of self and place can allow young people to feel confident, embrace change, recognise and manage risk, take responsibility for themselves and contribute in a positive nature to their communities.  

A central aspect of Identi-tee was encouraging encounters between teenagers, designer makers and local people of different generations leading to rich experiences and helping young people develop expertise, understanding, communication skills, confidence and awareness to create stronger families and communities.  These encounters can have a positive affect on the teenagers involved, allowing them to reflect on and develop their hopes, dreams and aspirations. 

Workshops were run with youth organisations, allowing young people to collaborate and discuss themselves, their relationships, their society and their environment, and how all these components affect sense of self.  

Key themes of personal wellbeing were developed and explored through creativity and reflection, the results of which can be seen in my exhibition.

These workshops could lead to developments in the field of personal identity in adolescences, its importance, and change it from a non-statutory component of the national curriculum, which could lead to widespread use of the workshops in schools and youth groups.

Exhibition layouts

Today I have sketched up a number of possible floorplans for the exhibition, I ended up doing this manually, but hopefully I have found the best combination, well definitely better than the initial 1m x 1m spaces the venue team allowed.

Exhibition wardrobe

Today I have been emailing furniture companies all day asking for sponsorship.  I have found the type of child's wardrobe I would really like to use to create my exhibition piece, and am hoping someone might give me one for free! Fingers crossed..

Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970–1990

Yesterday I went to the Postmodernism exhibition at the V&A. 

I found it really interesting, I loved the use of neon lights, acrylic and music, the space really took you into another world, the curious one of postmodernism. 

Notes from workshop

Tutorial - First of the last term

Exhibition idea

Workshop Iterations

Identi-tee - further iteration post feedback

This weekend I ran another workshop, which has led to some further iterations of the Identi-tee project, which I would like to implement on Wednesday for the Girl Guides, and then get their feedback on the changes. I have removed a number of exercises that werent very popular, and also every exercise takes so much longer than anticipated that I need the extra time. 

Session 1
 
Introduction and name labels - Whole Group

I will introduce myself, explain I am interested in people, how they see themselves, how they portray themselves and how they interact in their communities.  Explain about my course and the exhibition briefly.  Explain about the creation of the T-shirt, show examples, explain we will only start this today, not finish it.  I will be helping them develop some ideas that they will use on their t-shirts through a series of exercises, to which there are no right or wrong answers.  Any questions?
I will encourage the group to make their own sticky name labels, with felt tips and stickers, as individual as they want.

(10 mins)

Warm-up - Pairs

In pairs, the young people must say 1, 2, 3, back and forth within the pair.

Person A) - 1
Person B) - 2
Person A) - 3
Person B) - 1
Person A) - 2
Person B) -3
...
etc...

Then Person A) replaces 3 with their name, and Person B) does the same when they get number 3, they both say 1 and  normally, try getting faster and faster.

At the end of this discuss how their names just become sounds once repeated this many times, and so what do their names actually mean to them, what does it say about them?  Ask them what they think my name says about me, what assumptions do they make?  Do they identify with their names, is it really who they are?

At this point we will create some name labels for their actual T-shirts, they can do this in anyway they like.  This allows them to start their T-shirts, as I have found some of the younger members of the group are quite eager to do this. 

(20mins)

Who am I? - Whole group

As a group we discuss what they understand by the word Culture and the word Identity.  They write the ideas down on post its and I put them up for the group. Hand out A3 sheets with T-shirt outline, which allows them to note down anything on the paper t-shirt that they might like to put on their real t-shirt.

Discuss how people's self image can be influenced by other people.

Finally ask the group to shout out and write on post it notes elements that they feel make up their identity e.g. family, friends, interests, ethnicity, appearance, beliefs, values, choices etc.  What makes them who they are?

(10mins)

Break/Quick game - Whole group

Give each person a post-it note and pen, explain they have 30 seconds to draw a picture of themselves on it.  Give them 30 seconds.  Stop them and then share with the group, discuss who different everyone's picture is, some people will have drawn their faces, their bodies, discuss how everyone sees themselves differently and how we all interpret instructions differently.  

(5mins)

Brand Identity - Whole group collectively 

Show the group the brand alphabet, see how many they recognise.  Discuss how brands have an identity and what do they associate with some of these brand identities?  Apple, cool, IBM boring etc
Top 3 brands, coolest brands, favourite etc...

(5mins - optional exercise depending on length of workshop)

Break/Quick game - Small groups

Mix the groups up again, give them each a pile of magazines and speech bubble post it notes.  Each group is to look through the advertisements, and examine one of the following topics: how men's grooming products are associated with toughness, how women's products are associated with femininity or how age is treated in our culture.  Use the bubble post its to write remarks on the people in the adverts about what they are portraying.  Share with the group.  Guide the discussion on why these messages are set this way, what it means and how they feel about them. Discuss airbrushing and fake eyelashes etc.

(5/10mins)

10 Things you love - Whole group individually

Hand out worksheets, then ask the group to list 10 things they love, these can be people, objects, belongings, food, music, anything... no right or wrong, no silly answers.

(5mins)

Near end of first session, end with everyone choosing some pieces they would like to put on their T-shirts, and putting them in a labelled envelope.  Ask them all to bring in anything they would like to add to their T-shirts.   


Session 2


Hopes, Dreams, Aspirations - Whole group

Ask everyone to write down an aspiration on a brightly coloured tag, these can be shared with the group or be private.  Then tie them onto a helium balloon and go outside to release them. 

(10mins)

Main Activity : Identi-tee - Whole group individually

Each person to create a T-shirt that visually and externally represents their sense of self, their communities, families, hopes, dreams and aspirations.   Provide all the necessary equipment, materials, help and support.  Show example T-shirts created by other creatives, discuss the elements they see.  Begin session and ensure everyone is spoken to individually to help with progress. 

 (45mins)

Share work - whole group

Reflect and discuss together


(5mins) 

Clarify achievements - whole group


What have we achieved, what skills have we built? Everyone to say one thing they have done in the session they are proud of.  

(2-5mins)

Feedback

Ask the group to give feedback on which exercises they enjoyed and why, and what ones could be changed etc.  

(2-5mins)

From relics to Dr Who

Today I went to the British Museum and the Cartoon Museum.  As you can imagine two very different atmospheres.  I began the day in the BM's round reading room surrounded by relics and reliquaries.  The Treasures of Heaven: saints, relic and devotion in medieval Europe exhibition explored a very interesting relationship between religious beliefs and beautiful craftsmanship.  I felt that there was a space missing in that the exhibition didn't explore the lives of the people who believed in these relics in much detail.  I would have loved to know more about who they belonged to, their beliefs and how they lived their lives.  

I spent the afternoon at the Cartoon Museum's Dr Who exhibition.  Which gave me a wonderful idea about my exhibition.  I have had some problems with photographing the young people at my workshops, and although I have been allowed to take photos of their work, I haven't been able to visually document them and their journey.  I thought it would be wonderful to explore creating a comic of the workshops, and the young people's stories.  I have heard such compelling stories from the young people, and I would love to note them down in an engaging way. 

Ideation Workshop

I decided to book myself onto an Ideation workshop, I felt it would help me develop some creative ideas to use in my workshops.  There were some great exercises that I could change only slightly that would suit the teenagers.  Including one where we designed our own postcard in a musical chairs style game, every time the music stopped we had to swap postcards with the person next to us.  Then when the music started again continue drawing on their postcard.  The theme was creativity, at the end of the exercise, the postcards have gone full circle and you have your own postcard back.  You address to yourself with 3 things you have learnt from the course and that you would like to be reminded of.

I now have a huge pack of notes, powerpoint slides and a reading list to get through, but I learnt some wonderful new skills to help me apply my imagination and draw creativity out of everyone.

UK children stuck in 'materialistic trap'

Great article in the Guardian about British parents working longer hours, spending less time with their children, and then buying them off with 'branded goods'.

Submission - Last term!

Your research question:

How can young people be encouraged to develop their personal identities through creative critical reflection?

A progress summary (650 maximum):

Firstly I am very pleased with the momentum I have kept over the summer.  As I didn’t break for 2 weeks until the end of September, I have been able to power through my work during August and the start of September.

August saw a further 2 or 3 iterations of my workshop with feedback from young people, youth group leaders and teachers.  The process is a very fluid one, and in fact each workshop differs greatly because of the young people involved.  Sometimes I find an activity isn't really working and so I just move onto to the next, each group has an extremely different dynamic.

A very big event over the summer was the London Riots.  This has really helped bring attention to what my project is about, engaging with young people to help them understand the decisions they can make in their own lives, what they really want, and how they can achieve it.  There has been some interesting research over the month on why this happened, who was involved, and how they feel.  I have been observing everything unfold and taking from the events what learnings I can.  I think this has helped me secure 3 further workshops with the Girl Guides.It's strange but I really feel that this period of unrest has helped open doors, gatekeepers now seem more intereested in what I am trying to do.  I am not sure why, whether it's because they have complete a certain quota of activities with young people to show that they are engaging with the community, I don't know...

I now have a bank of information collated during the workshops, this details what young people want for themselves, what they love, how they feel about their communities and societies and how the process of creative reflection has really helped them develop their personal identities, with a very visual finally, the Identi-tee.

I have started to prepare my final synopsis, it's a working document, I was initially very worried about how I could write up so much of my hard work in so few words, but you can see a summary of what I have so far, below, also not sure how much it needs to explain what I did and why, or my findings?  I have printed my blog book from last year, and so will be well prepared when I need to print this years record as my reflective journal. I can bring this to the next tutorial, I understand there are concerns about printed reflective journals, so would love your feedback on this when you see what I have from the first year of the course.

WHAT

By developing creative, positive and enjoyable workshops, young people can discuss society, culture, values, hopes, dreams and aspirations and engage with their personal identities and communities in a constructive way.

WHY

The physical, psychological and social changes experienced by adolescents are such that psychologists generally regard adolescence as a critical period for self and identity development (Erikson, 1968; Marcia, 1987). These workshops could encourage young people to be confident individuals, enjoy learning, progress, achieve, and become responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to society. They could also be used to help reduce the youth gang culture mentality that can evolve from family breakdown (which leads to crisis in cultural and personal identity). The looting in the UK in the summer of 2011 was a very real and graphic demonstration of the number of young people who are currently in crisis within our communities.

Personal wellbeing is currently a non-statutory part of the National Curriculum for 11-16 years olds, it includes elements such as personal identities, healthy lifestyles, relationships and diversity. These are key to helping young people develop their personal identities, to feel confident, embrace change, recognize and manage risk, take responsibility for themselves and contribute in a positive nature to their communities. We need to ensure that all young people in our society get the help and guidance they need to develop their personal wellbeing.

We must also consider that many students’ cultural, ethnic, linguistic, racial and social class backgrounds differ from their homogeneous teaching population (mostly white, female, and middle class), young people need to be provided with relevant social and cultural realities (Howard, 2003) to give them the tools to deal with the physical, psychological and social changes they are experiencing.

Dewey (1933) talked about the value of reflection in education: critical reflection ‘gives attention to one’s experiences and behaviours, and meanings are interpreted from them to inform future decision-making. Once cognitive processing is complete, reflective action is an extremely useful tool for addressing social and emotional issues, especially those relating to race and culture.

HOW

During the workshops, young people collaborate to discuss themselves, their relationship, their society and their environment, and how all these components affect sense of self. The key themes of personal wellbeing are developed and explored through creativity and reflection:

CREATIVITY Producing artefacts, experimenting with ideas, materials,

tools and techniques, taking risks and learning from mistakes.

REFLECTION Exploring the visual, tactile and other sensory qualities of

their own and others’ work, identifying how values and meanings are

conveyed, developing views and expressing reasoned judgment, analyzing

and reflecting on their work and the work of others.

IF

These workshops could lead to developments in the field of personal identity in adolescences, its importance, and change it from a non-statutory component of the national curriculum, which could lead to widespread use of the workshops in schools and youth groups.

Next Steps

I still have 3 more sessions booked in to carry out workshops with the Girl Guides in October, so there may be further iterations of the workshops during this time and obviously there will be further findings.

I have also been thinking about ways to dimensionalise the workshop for the purposes of the final exhibition, and will need to formalise these further, but I hope to demonstrate a variety of exercises carried out and the responses from the young people to these.

I will need to print my blog book for this year (2011 January to date).

I will keep trying get sponsorship (have had some very positive chats with an advertising agency about getting some booze for the private view) for the exhibition and continue with daily twitter and facebook updates, as well as develop relationships with appropriate PR contacts.

Your bibliography and resource list.: 

 http://madsjourney.blogspot.com/search/label/References

Your role in the Degree Show project and your input to date (40 words max):

-       Co-lead role in the marketing team, preparing the marketing/PR plan with Bushra, viral idea, organising meetings and distributing tasks

-       weekly news coverage report

-       website framework

-       set up the twitter and facebook accounts, (there is now a team of helpers updating these with me)

-       built a database of PR contacts for the 6 week PR campaign prior to the exhibition, and have already discussed our exhibition with the Guardian’s Alex Needham

-       secured over £3000 worth of advertising with Creative Review (with the help of the Central Illustration Agency), which will run for 6 weeks before the exhibition and will be designed by the graphic designers Staziker Jones.

-       actively taken part in all group meetings

-       continuing to seek further exhibition sponsors