Experiments in New Thinking

Final Synopsis

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

My aim was to develop creative, positive and enjoyable workshops where young people can discuss society, culture, values and aspirations, engaging with their personal identities and role within their communities in a constructive way, something I am personally very passionate about. 

The physical, psychological and social changes experienced by adolescents lead psychologists to regard adolescence as a critical period for self and identity development (Erikson, 1968; Marcia, 1987).  Identi-tee workshops are designed to encourage young people to reflect on their sense of self and community, enabling them to become confident individuals and decision makers. 

Although there has been some recent interest in the development of social identity (e.g., Bennett & Sani, 2004), most research has been conducted with children, and researchers have assumed adolescents to be equivalent to adults (Ruble et al., 2004; Sani & Bennett, 2004).

Personal wellbeing is currently a non-statutory part of the National Curriculum for 11-16 year olds, and crucial issues - including elements such as personal identity, relationships within the community, and diversity – are not explored in many schools.

My workshops aim to address this using critical reflection, which is considered ‘an extremely useful tool for addressing social and emotional issues, especially those relating to race and culture.’ (Dewey, 1933)

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

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, analysing and reflecting on their work and the work of others.

I have been extremely moved by the powerful discussions and observations during Identi-tee but have found it difficult to record these without feeling like I am exploiting the young people involved.  I have been left with an overwhelming sense of urgency and concern regarding the futures of many of the participant. 

The exercises work differently on both a group and individual level, with certain topics and related exercises resonating with specific individuals depending on their needs, noticeable from the depth of their responses.  The workshop iterations were therefore very intuitive - exercises were adapted on the spot and at the end of sessions from feedback received.  The young people were extremely vocal about what they enjoyed and what they didn’t - teenagers are very honest with their criticisms.

This summer has really opened my eyes to the group dynamics and peer pressure young people are exposed to everyday, and without a strong sense of self it would be extremely difficult for them to display their true selves in such an environment, where they are under real pressure to conform. 

I hope these workshops can lead to developments in the field of personal identity in adolescents, help recognise its importance and lead to widespread use of the workshops in schools and youth groups.

Identi-tee is ongoing, with further workshops in 2012, using drama, singing, dance, as well as workshops on other key topics, such as relationships and diversity.

The workshops can also be tailored to help the homeless, people who can suffer the most from a lack of identity caused by a feeling of ‘hearthlessness’ and inability to identify with society. Feelings of isolation, rejection and alienation are extremely common with homeless people, these in turn can lead to psychological problems in relation to identity.  I feel there is room to help homeless people explore and stimulate their feelings of identity using a variety of exercises from my findings to date.

My exhibition has been inspired by the Fluxus movement.   Maciunas defined Fluxus products as ‘work that would occur as a result of performance activities, or as elements of participation environments.’ This resonates with what I am trying to represent; I have filled drawers with objects that represent the different workshop exercises involved in Identi-tee, reminiscent of the Fluxkits in which Maciunas collected performance-related cards, games, and ideas.

Autumn 2011

Books:

Friedman, K (1998). The Fluxus Reader. Chichester: Academy Editions.

Kellein, T (1995). Fluxus.  London: Thames and Hudson.

Hendricks, J et al (2008).  Fluxus Scores and Instructions, The Transformative Years.  Roskilde, Denmark : Museum of Contemporary Art.  

Jenkins, J et al (1993).  In the spirit of Fluxus. Minneapolis : Walker Art Center.  

Williams, E. (1997).  Mr. Fluxus: A collective portrait of George Maciunas, 1931 - 1978.  London: Thomas and Hudson.    

Articles:   Umana-Taylor, A., (2004) Ethnic identity and self-esteem: examining the role of social context.  Journal of Adolescence, Volume 27, p. 139-146    Hogg, M. et al, (1995) A Tale of Two Theories: A Critical Comparison of Identity Theory with Social Identity.   Social Psychology Quarterly, Vol. 58, No. 4 (Dec., 1995), pp. 255-269.   Mezirow, J. (1990). How critical reflection triggers transformative learning. In J. Mezirow (Ed.), Fostering critical reflection in adulthood (pp. 1-18). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.   Nesdale, D. (1999) 'Social identity and ethnic prejudice in children' in Martin, P. and Noble, W. (eds.)Psychology and Society, Brisbane, Australian Academic Press. Nesdale, D. (2004) 'Social identity processes and children's ethnic prejudice' in Benett, M. and Sani, F. (eds) The Development of the Social Self, Hove, Psychology Press.   Exhibitions:

Feldman (2011) The Hugo Boss Prize 2010: Hans-Peter Feldman.  New York: Guggenheim.  20th May - 2nd November 2011.  

Kadinsky (2011) Kadinsky's Painting with a white border.  New York: Guggenheim.  21st October 2011 - 15th January 2012.    

de Kooning (2011) de Kooning: A Retrospective.  New York: MoMA.  18th September 2011 - 9th January 2012.  

Various (2011) Postmodernism: Style and Subversion, 1970-1990.  London: V&A.  24th September 2011 - 15th January 2012.   

Various (2011) Power of Making.  London: V&A.  6th September 2011 - 2nd January 2012.      Various (2011) Glamour of the Gods.  London: National Portrait Gallery.  7th July - 23rd October 2011.     

Model of exhibition piece

Synopsis take 2!

I have redrafted my synopsis following feedback that I should include some information on how my workshops were iterated:

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

My aim was to develop creative, positive and enjoyable workshops where young people can discuss society, culture, values, dreams and aspirations, engaging with their personal identities and role within their communities in a constructive way. 

The physical, psychological and social changes experienced by adolescents lead psychologists to regard adolescence as a critical period for self and identity development (Erikson, 1968; Marcia, 1987).  Identi-tee workshops are designed to encourage young people to reflect on their sense of self and community, enabling them to become confident individuals and responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to society. 

Although there has been some recent interest in the development of social identity (e.g., Bennett & Sani, 2004), most research has been conducted with children, and researchers have assumed adolescents to be equivalent to adults (Ruble et al., 2004; Sani & Bennett, 2004). 

Personal wellbeing is currently a non-statutory part of the National Curriculum for 11-16 year olds, and crucial issues - including elements such as personal identity, relationships within the community, and diversity – are not explored in many schools.

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

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. 

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

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, analysing and reflecting on their work and the work of others.

The exercises work differently on both a group and individual level, with certain topics and related exercises resonating with different individuals depending on their needs.  This was easy to tell from the depth of their responses.  The workshop iterations were therefore very intuitive - exercises were adapted on the spot and at the end of sessions from feedback received.  The young people were extremely vocal about what they enjoyed and what they didn’t - teenagers are very honest with their criticisms. 

I hope that these workshops could lead to developments in the field of personal identity in adolescents, help recognise its importance and lead to widespread use of the workshops in schools and youth groups.

Identi-tee is on going, there are further workshops in 2012, using drama, singing and dance to aid critical reflection, as well as workshops on other key topics, such as relationships or diversity. 

The workshops can also be tailored to help the homeless, people who can suffer the most from a lack of identity caused by a feeling of ‘hearthlessness’ and inability to identify with society. Feelings of isolation, rejection and alienation are extremely common with homeless people, these in turn can lead to psychological problems in relation to identity.  I feel there is room to help homeless people explore and stimulate their feelings of identity using a variety of exercises from my findings to date.

My exhibition has been inspired by the Fluxus movement.   Maciunas defined Fluxus products as ‘work that would occur as a result of performance activities, or as elements of participation environments.’ This resonates with what I am trying to represent; I have filled drawers with objects that represent the different workshop exercises involved in Identi-tee, reminiscent of the Fluxkits in which Maciunas collected performance-related cards, games, and ideas.

David Graas

I first became aware of David Graas's work when I bought the book 1000 New Eco Designs, so when I was planning my exhibition I emailed him to ask for help, and I am extremely pleased to say he has agreed to help me with my wardrobe design for the exhibition.  

I've been reflecting on the workshops and the key things I noticed.  One is that the specific exercises worked best for those young people who really needed it, by this I mean the ones who had already been thinking about the issues concerned due to reasons specific to them.  For example when we discussed our names and what they meant to us, and how they represented us ones of the most vocal members of the group had had occasion to discuss changing her name for legal reasons. 

Thought of the day

The shifts in adolescence are so significant, we need to ensure we support our young people, those who are not academic may not receive the support they need in the current school system, workshops that develop their existing skills and interests can help create confident and positive young people.  It can help young people develop a range of skills to ensure they can make the right decisions in a different period of their lives, assess risk and build healthy relationships. 

My entries are becoming slightly less regular at the moment, purely because I have been spending almost all my energy on a daily basis on the PR campaign for the exhibition.  It's going very well, I have a good range of journalists and bloggers interested in our exhibition, I have prepared and sent through case studies for them, and am writing a press release shortly. 

I am also trying to rally everyone into being a part of the PR campaign, I need them all to be active otherwise the information I am getting out there won't go very far!

I am also trying to figure out where I am going to get a child's wardrobe from for the exhibition.  I am worried about leaving it too late. 

Same with printing out my blog, I don't want to leave it so that it has more entries in the book but doesnt come in time for the exhibition!!

I will write more soon, about my reflective thoughts post workshops, as I have been formulating some thinking...

Artefact iteration

My initial artifact looked at ways of combining modern technologies and traditional crafting techniques in order to explore how people and groups pass on their cultural identity through crafting, and whether technology can help to facilitate this process.  I initially created woven lights made from LED tape.  I quickly realised I was more interested in the interaction of people with products, and created kits that encouraged craft-based cross-generational interactions.  To this end, I started investigating crafting as a social network - I spent a lot of time at crafts groups and also investigated how people were searching for and learning new skills online. 

At this point I had 3 very different artifacts, all of which used traditional techniques in a modern setting. These included a chandelier kit for parties, BBQs, music festivals etc., a knitting based artefact, and an Olympic Games based artifact.  After testing all of these I found I was still more interested in finding out about the people using these kits and their relationship with crafting. What I wanted to explore was the demographic of the people and groups, and in turn how to encourage more people to get involved, pass on skills, and to really interact and explore their sense of self and community. Attempting to find a way for young people to get more involved with crafting and the community, and ways that this could help them explore their identity, became my prime focus.

My next artifact focused more on this: an activity based workshop for young people. My aim was to encourage encounters between teenagers and designer makers and local people of different generations.  These encounters led to extremely rich experiences and helped the young people develop a variety of new skills. Whilst volunteering at the local youth club, and testing these activities with the local teenagers, I came up with Graffi-tee – activities to encourage young people to investigate their sense of self through creative critical reflection. 

Through testing this I moved onto Identi-tee, a crafts-based workshop that I have been using with the Girl Guides in North West London since the Summer.  These workshops have been iterated a number of times, after feedback from youth workers and from the teenagers themselves post-workshop. 

The above artifacts have been tested in groups and with experts in their field.

Whilst carrying out testing on Identi-tee and Graffi-tee I noticed another way of engaging with the teenagers, which I hope to develop in 2012.  A number of the young people I worked with would have preferred activities that involved music, dance, and singing.  I have found a number of appropriate practitioners in my area, but have not as yet been able to fully design and test this workshop, although I have adapted a number of improvisation techniques from those I have come across in my research. 

I also spoke to the charity Depaul and the Willesden Hostel as whilst I have been researching teenage identity I became extremely interested in the identity issues that young homeless people suffer from.  I have prepared some exercises for a workshop with them in the New Year, which I will be doing with the support of the appropriate case workers from Depaul. 

Gatekeepers

Artifact 1 Research and Development team, Crafts Council Sarah Hewett, Professional Development Manager, Craft Central Tessa Damer, Studio Manager, Craft Central Craft Central Interns Helen Batley, Minnie Bats Design iGuzzini, lighting designer The Make Lounge team Jane Friend, Craft Residencies Coordinator, Farnham Maltings

Artifact 2 Marsha Oza, jewellery designer, community projects director Chloe Haywood, Milliner, experienced in carrying out workshops with adults and children Karen Hobbs, Costume Designer, experienced in carrying out workshops with young people Josie Boyce, writer, illustrator, art director Jodie May, Crafts enthusiast, new mum Natalie Wiggins, crafts enthusiast Nicola Barron, Founder, Homemade London Jane Gois, Founder, Tea & Crafting Claire Heafford, Founder, The Papered Parlour Jackie Woosnam-Savage, Founder, Create Boutique

Artifact 3 Graffi-tee: Keith Lunn, Director of OK Club, Kilburn Stuart, Youth Worker, OK Club Kilburn Youth workers at the Granville Plus Arts Centre Dan Thompson, Empty Shops Network, has carried out an arts programme in my area Sharyn Farnan, MakeSpace, co-design with commmunities to transfrom empty spaces Over 30 teenagers at the OK Club from ages 12-22. 10 teenagers from the American School of Dubai.  Held an identity brainstorm with 5 adult respondents.

Artifact 4 Identi-tee: Girl Guide leader, Sandra Kitchen Brown Owl, Patricia Rose Vanessa Jarrett, Therapist, regarding identity issues and young people Over 15 Girl guides from ages 12-17.  Ami Ghadia, Youth Worker, Clapham, currently completing an Art Therapy Masters. Musical Arts Workshop: Viola Newbury, Actor and Educational Performer Simon Porter, Performance Poet Identity and Homelessness: Depaul UK Willesden Hostel, Steps House and Crash Pad

DRAFT Synopsis Submission

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

My aim was to develop creative, positive and enjoyable workshops where young people can discuss society, culture, values, dreams and aspirations, engaging with their personal identities and role within their communities in a constructive way. 

The physical, psychological and social changes experienced by adolescents lead psychologists to regard adolescence as a critical period for self and identity development (Erikson, 1968; Marcia, 1987).  The Identi-tee workshops are designed to encourage young people to reflect on their sense of self and community, enabling them to become confident individuals and become responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to society. 

Although there has been some recent interest in the development of social identity (e.g., Bennett & Sani, 2004), most research has been conducted with children, and researchers have assumed adolescents to be equivalent to adults (Ruble et al., 2004; Sani & Bennett, 2004). 

Personal wellbeing is a non-statutory part of the National Curriculum for 11-16 years olds, including elements such as personal identity, healthy lifestyles, relationships and diversity: key to helping young people develop their identities, feel confident, embrace change, recognize and manage risk, take responsibility for themselves and contribute in a positive nature to their communities. 

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

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. 

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, analysing and reflecting on their work and the work of others.

(The results of the above interactions have been noted in my blog and can be seen in my exhibition).

I hope that 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, leading to widespread use of the workshops in schools and youth groups.

Identi-tee is on going, there are further workshops in 2012, using drama, singing and dance to aid critical reflection, as well as workshops on other key topics, such as relationships or diversity. 

During my research I have become extremely passionate about helping young people who have suffered homelessness.  Homelessness poses a real risk to identity, the social stigma and negative status associated with being homeless combined with 'hearthlessness', leads to a lack of attachment to and identification with temporary accommodation.  Emotional attachment to, and identification with, places is key to psychological health. Feelings of isolation, rejection and alienation is extremely common with homeless people, these in turn can lead to psychological problems in relation to identity.  Another key issue is having somewhere 'safe' for emotions and thoughts, without this 'psychological space' a person can become emotionally withdrawn and lock emotions away.  I feel there is room to investigate this using a variety of exercises developed from my findings to date. 

My exhibition has been inspired by the Fluxus movement.   Maciunas defined Fluxus products as ‘work that would occur as a result of performance activities, or as elements of participation environments.’ This resonates with what I am trying to represent; I have filled drawers with objects that represent the different workshop exercises involved in Identi-tee, reminiscent of the Fluxkits in which Maciunas collected performance-related cards, games, and ideas.

Feedback from the Guides

Last night was my last workshop with the Girl Guides, at the end of the session, I asked each girl to write something on 3 different post-its:

Green: Something they enjoyed about the workshop
Red: Something they didnt enjoy about the workshop
Yellow: Something new they learnt during the workshop

They were all extremely complimentary, as were he guide leaders, they said their wasnt any aspect of Identi-tee that they didn't enjoy.

These notes will be displayed in the exhibition.

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.