Published: March 21, 2022
Written by: Veronique Laniel
#SeeMeNorthEast ‘Pull up a chair and listen’ funded by Research England’s Policy Support Fund
With UKRI Policy Support and her Interdisciplinary Research Network Adverse Childhood Experiences funding, Sarah Martin Denham is working with approximately 200 children permanently excluded from school in our region. The project is the next step in developing research and children’s engagement on the impact of school exclusions on aspirations, progress and wellbeing led and published by Sarah Martin Denham. The project is a collaboration with Carol MacKay, Amanda Ritson and Michael Daglish in the Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries
Children and young people (CYP) excluded from school are often invisible, with negative representation in the media. #SeeMe is a pilot creative arts ‘voice’ project with over 200 CYP, 5-16 years, with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) excluded from school in NE England. The purpose of the project is to recognise and champion the abilities of those excluded from school.
You can view the video ‘Pull up a chair and listen’ here.
The project is in two parts. The first part of the project involved 10 CYP coming to the University of Sunderland to work with Cap a Pie a performing arts company and Sarah to express through the arts how they see the world and how the world sees them. Many of their works can be seen at #SeeMeNorthEast on Twitter and Instagram.
The second part of the project involved over 200 CYP across eight alternative provision and pupil referral units across the North East of England. Four artists – Frank Styles, Jo Howell, Hannah Gawne and Angela Sandwith provided inspiring video workshops to show their art medium and what brings them joy. Sarah, delivered packs of resources to the schools to support the CYP in creating their own artworks with the theme of ‘joy’. The works are being collected w/b 24th March and will be professionally photographed at the University of Sunderland.
The collection of works will be exhibited at the National Glass Centre from 25th April to the 2nd May 2022 as part of the Vinca Peterson exhibition.
Please support #SeeMeNorthEast in placing these CYP on centre stage. They deserve nothing less.