UPDATE: ELEMENT’S 2022 IN FOCUS
Ok, so we know we’ve been a bit quiet on here recently, but that’s because we’ve had a lot on our plates. And we really mean a lot. With the year drawing to a close, the Element team put our heads together to reflect (and cheer) all the great things that we’ve accomplished this year. Take a read of some of our 2022 highlights below.
The Element team grew by two - wahoo!
Let’s start with some internal changes. This year we welcomed the wonderful Halima Nessa as Element’s new Chief Executive Officer. Halima came with twenty years of youth sector experience under her belt and - needless to say - is already steering Element towards an ever brighter future. Strap in because we’re dreaming big next year folks!
More recently, we appointed our new Programme Officer, Jo, who will be delivering Element’s creative projects in schools next year. With experience in arts education and a passion for making it more accessible, Jo’s settled right in to the Element team. Find out more about both our latest hires on the ‘meet the team’ section of our webpage.
And what would Element be without our incredible group of Youth Champions? These young creatives ensure our network’s voice is at the centre of every Element project, all the whilst flexing their own facilitation skills. We’ve been so proud watching the growth of each and every one of our champions - and thank you all so much!
Psst! Did you know that we also work with freelancers too? If you’re a creative facilitator and would be interested in working with us, drop us a line at the address below.
We gave our programmes a glow up
We like to regularly check in with ourselves about how we can be better. This year we’re proud to say that we decided to refresh our creative process; incorporating a range of new, exciting art forms that cater to Element’s many different audiences.
Participants on an Element programme might be getting their hands dirty with lino printing one day, creating stained glass another, and marbling the next! We also tailored an Element project specifically for primary school students - a new age bracket for us. More on that below.
We went back to school (and back, and back again)
This year Element ran a creative project in 14 schools across London. That’s 138 children who have explored their identity, experimented with new art forms and built meaningful social connections as part of our schools work. “Element has been the most fun of my life” said a Young Creative from St John’s Primary in Hammersmith. Think that says it all, really.
Each and every one of our projects ends with a showcase in which we celebrate the achievements of our young artists. We’ve been thrilled to see so many proud and curious faces coming to applaud the artworks on display. A big thank you to our schools partner West London Zone for supporting us throughout the year.
We’ve teamed up with some pretty cool cats
Collaboration is at the heart of what we do, and this year we’ve partnered with some incredible arts organisations who share our mission to open up cultural spaces for everyone. A massive thank you to Saatchi Gallery, Tate, The Wallace Collection, Sir John Soane’s Museum, Donmar Warehouse and Bush Theatre, all of whom we’ve worked with to deliver Care Leaver arts projects responding to each institution’s spectacular offering. We couldn’t do this important work without you!
Occasionally, we’ve even had artists come to us. Our Culture Club invites creative practitioners to come and share their work with the Element Creative Community. This year we were lucky enough to get a taste of screenwriting with Anna Ssemuyaba and character creation with Tice Chan. We’re so grateful to you both for imparting such wisdom!
A huge thank you also to Centrepoint for a great ongoing partnership and for the continued support from our local borough councils. All of whom help us to keep growing our network and impact young lives in Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, Islington and beyond.
We’ve been about the town
This year we facilitated 13 trips to arts institutions, events and exhibitions around London, treating our young people to a healthy dose of art and culture across the year. That’s a whopping 74 individual inspirational days out! We’re proud of the many happy memories we share here at Element.
We also ran our first ever Element summer sports day! Our athletes stormed Hampstead Heath to compete in an epic tournament of outdoor games, including rounders, sack races and tug of war. A big shout out to Mad Lug for kitting us out with bags that came in real handy here. We ended the day with a tasty picnic in the sunshine. Mmmm, bliss.
That’s a wrap!
We told you we’ve been busy - and we’re not slowing down there. Next year we’ve got even bigger dreams to reach more young creatives, collaborate with more artists and institutions and create more memorable experiences for our network.
Like the sound of what we do? Say hello at info@elementproject.org or send us a message on our socials.