Creativity Counts: The Unexpected Benefits of Our Work
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”
Picasso’s quote may be over-used but it does ring true; many adults don’t consider themselves to be artists or even creative. Even though traditional creative endeavours like drawing or writing or dancing are really enjoyable, they are so often something we used to do as a child. Creativity is simply the ability to imagine things differently and isn’t confined to people who have chosen ‘creative’ careers, it belongs to all of us, you just might need the tools and an encouraging environment.
At Digital Voice, we’re not trying to turn everyone into an artist but creativity is at the heart of what we do, we just happen to do it digitally. Our courses and projects put in place a safe and supportive environment, the necessary tools, expert artists and some inspiration whilst our participants bring their stories, experiences and a willingness to try something new. It’s been a very successful formula and here are just some of the projects where we’ve seen some great results.
Digital Drawing has been one of our most successful programmes and after early participants reported a real change in their mental health, we began to be more explicit about the link between the activity of drawing and a person’s wellbeing.
Three groups in Gateshead have recently had the joy of putting apple pencil to screen on our Wellbeing Through Digital Drawing courses.
We worked with Gateshead Clubhouse, a mental health community hub, run entirely by its members and at Bensham Hospital, who invited us to work with their Younger Person’s Memory Service including people diagnosed with early-onset dementia as well as a group of people with learning disabilities.
Here’s what some of the participants had to say about the benefits to them:
“Being able to express yourself …Being creative”
“Learned something new: I was surprised at how good my work was when printed.”
“Exploring art in a different perspective”
“I’ve gotten rid of a bit of anxiety and feel more relaxed now, I feel comfortable”
“Doing something different, meeting new people”
Creativity shows up in a different way in our project with NE Youth in Winlaton, funded by Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner. Young people wanted to do something about anti-social behaviour in their village and worked with us to come up with a creative solution to a very real problem. With their new-found skills they created a series of TikTok films which address the problems and offer solutions, thereby reaching a much wider audience for their messages.
And finally…
If the Picasso quote teaches us anything, it is that we can learn a lot from children and young people as not only are they digital natives, they usually don’t question their own creativity. We love working intergenerationally for this reason and our work with older people in Rowlands Gill and their younger buddies from Rowlands Gill Primary School has been so beneficial for both parties. The older and younger pairings have worked together taking digital photographs on iPads and then making jigsaws of them.
“We picked kids who needed to come out of their shell a bit more so it was lovely seeing them show the adults what to do, and gaining confidence in that way.”
- Teacher, Rowlands Gill Primary School
This simple and gentle project has had profound effects on both groups, with participants reporting that they feel happier, more connected, more confident and yes, more creative.
So if you have a group who would benefit from exploring or reigniting their creativity, with some digital skills as the cherry on top, we’d love to hear from you.