Creativity and Engaging Young People
Peter Kelly and Christen Cornell
The project’s Action Research Industry Group (ARIG) comprises stakeholders from various arts-based organisations working with young people, and from across a range of education, training and industry sectors.
Our first VideoAsk question for the ARIG was deliberately open, allowing people to bring their varied perspectives to the project.
Question: The word ‘creativity’ is used a lot in contemporary work contexts, not least of all in discussions about young people and 21st century skills.
Without seeking agreement or consensus, we are interested in what comes to your mind when the topic of creativity, 21st century skills and young people employment pathways is raised.
Speaking from your background and experience, what does the word ‘creativity’ mean when it comes to young people and training for future work?
The responses were diverse and intriguing, and fell into what we’ve identified as two early themes. In this blog we are interested in briefly highlighting:
Theme 2: ‘Creativity’ and ‘creative work’ as engaging young people on their own terms.
In this theme there was a generalised sense that ‘creativity’, ‘creative work’, and ‘creative practices’ - even if these things were understood in a number of different ways - can be productive and powerful ways to engage or re-engage young people. And this engagement might, in turn, be productive in terms of young people’s well-being, and their education, training and employment pathways.
Kate Duncan (The Push) spoke about creativity as an accessible platform through which young people can express themselves and find points of engagement with others. She also described ‘creativity’ as inclusive for the ways in which it can validate multiple views and approaches:
“Creativity, when it comes to young people and training for future work, is an accessible platform that gives young people the opportunity to develop confidence, connection and transferable skills that they might not have the opportunity to develop through a more, another or more traditional environment.”
Wayne Elliot, from the Geelong Region Local Learning and Employment Network, spoke about his experience working with young people, and the ways in which creative projects were typically driven by the passion of participants. Prefacing his comments with his experiences of, and observations about, the impacts that the pandemic and associated public health lockdowns (school closures) had on many young people, Wayne suggested that:
“In my view it's best to have something that’s engaging. Something that … a young person can be involved in, and art offers a vehicle for engagement.”
“I did some work in the entrepreneurial space for a number of years. A lot of the businesses that were coming through for young people had an arts bent to them or a creative bent to them. And many of those people were engaged with that because, from either an interest or passion, it matched what they wanted to do from an identity perspective.”
These comments on creativity as a means of engagement points to other recent research in this area, and suggests the potential of the arts to address social and professional marginalisation.
In a recent ARC Discovery project, Arts-based Social Enterprise and Marginalised Young People’s Transitions (conducted by Peter Kelly with colleagues at RMIT University), we demonstrated the impact of arts-based social enterprises (ASEs) in engaging those young people most affected by unemployment and precarious work.
Based on interviews with 12 arts-based social enterprises across Australia and three in-depth cases studies of ASEs we developed a critical policy brief, Transitioning Young People to Education and Employment through Arts-based Social Enterprises, in which we argued, in part, that:
“Art-based social enterprises (ASEs) are known to be highly effective at engaging young people because of their emphasis on learning through expressive and material practice rather than formal knowledge acquisition. They have a proven capacity to develop programs which involve vulnerable young people in activities and practices that provide education, training and employment pathways, and contribute to their health and well-being.”
In the context of ASE’s explicit and well-targeted work with the most disengaged and marginalised young people there is a particular focus on the promotion of practices that support well-being, belonging, and re-engagement:
“One of the primary outcomes reported for young people participating in ASEs is improved health and well-being, which can include an increased sense of support and community, confidence in learning, connection to the creative industries, and developing hope and resilience for their future. The most marginalised young people encounter complex, intersecting issues around health and well-being, socioeconomic status, educational attainment, cultural diversity and other indicators of disadvantage. Our research indicates that, most often, engagement and well-being are key to generating positive pathways for disadvantaged young people, and that these underpin development of skills and transitions to further employment or education.”
These concerns are also of interest to the Vital Arts project given much of the work that our partner organisations do with young people.
See all the video and audio responses in our YouTube playlist below: