Holly Donagh, of London-based charity A New Direction, examines youth disengagement from the arts and suggests ideas for venues and practitioners to re-invigorate it.
A New Direction is a London charity that has been around for over ten years. Our mission is to connect children and young people with the best of arts and culture in the city and in particular to tackle the persistent issue of inequality. We know that factors such as family income, geography and to some extent luck still have a significant impact on whether or not as a child or young person you are able to have a creative childhood.
A New Direction’s own research into cultural engagement amongst young Londoners reinforced the idea of a divide between the notion of glamorous creative city and the lived experience of many young people (and adults!). In our survey nearly 50% of young Londoners had never been to a theatre performance, gallery or music event in the previous year.
When asked about why they don’t go to cultural venues young people cite accessibility and the ‘familiarity of an area’ as key barriers to engagement. ‘Not feeling that a place is ‘part of who I am’ appears to have the most significant impact on young people’s willingness to spend time at cultural venues. This is the strongest barrier to young people engaging with cultural spaces and is part of a worrying trend that suggest young do not feel welcome in certain places and do not see the world of ‘culture’ as relevant to their lives... Keep reading on A New Direction
A New Direction is a London charity that has been around for over ten years. Our mission is to connect children and young people with the best of arts and culture in the city and in particular to tackle the persistent issue of inequality. We know that factors such as family income, geography and to some extent luck still have a significant impact on whether or not as a child or young person you are able to have a creative childhood.
A New Direction’s own research into cultural engagement amongst young Londoners reinforced the idea of a divide between the notion of glamorous creative city and the lived experience of many young people (and adults!). In our survey nearly 50% of young Londoners had never been to a theatre performance, gallery or music event in the previous year.
When asked about why they don’t go to cultural venues young people cite accessibility and the ‘familiarity of an area’ as key barriers to engagement. ‘Not feeling that a place is ‘part of who I am’ appears to have the most significant impact on young people’s willingness to spend time at cultural venues. This is the strongest barrier to young people engaging with cultural spaces and is part of a worrying trend that suggest young do not feel welcome in certain places and do not see the world of ‘culture’ as relevant to their lives... Keep reading on A New Direction