On the 27th of August 2020 we planned to hold “Expressions Session,” our first-ever online open mic event. We wanted to give young people the space to capture and express their lockdown experiences through visual art, spoken word and music. We know that storytelling can be a safe way to explore and express emotional responses to challenging events, and we had 7 performers ready to share their creative work with you.
Unfortunately, many of our performers have changed their plans or had changes in their personal circumstances meaning they can no longer take part. Rather than cancel the event entirely, we have decided to showcase their work here. We also plan to reschedule the live event to a date later this year, so we will be in touch to confirm those details soon.
We hope you enjoy these pieces as much as we have.
"Stress on the Brain"performed by students at New River College in Islington.
“Stress on the Brain” is a fantastic poem by a group of students from New River College (Islington), working with SoapBox Youth Centre, Islington CAMHS and The Peel Institute. (https://www.peelinstitute.
The artists are Mister Lees, Producer (@misterleesmusic, www.youtube.com/
'On my Mind' by Jamaar and 'Can't Wait' by Nfaly
These entries were submitted on behalf of Jamaar and Nfaly by the Synergy Theatre Project. Each artist reflects on their experience of lockdown. Synergy Theatre Project worked with a range of young people during Lockdown on spoken word projects delivered via zoom. The projects explored their feelings in response to Lockdown and other pressures that they wanted to express. These films are some of the work created on the projects:
In my write mind
This poem was performed by young people working with our partners at The Wish Centre, Harrow Giving,and Synergy Theatre Project.
A Seat At The Table by Georgia Moona-Sam aka SamOnTheMoon
Georgia is one of the young people we have worked with in the past and a very important member of our Youth Advisory Board. When we asked her why she wrote this piece, she said, “I wrote A Seat At The Table as a way to articulate how it feels to be working class and feeling like the system was set up for your own failure, I performed this at the Child Poverty Summit in 2019.”
Great Expectations - Poems - Synergy Theatre Project
This fantastic poem was created by 11 year old Nicolas in 1 to 1 sessions with our partner organisation Synergy Theatre Project.
