CREATIVE:CONNECTION

“I learnt that we are capable of doing the same things.”
participant

the project

creative:connection is our award-winning project that tackles disability prejudice. We bring disabled and non-disabled young people together to work with our professional artists to make visual art, music, film and more.

“It’s given them skills they might not otherwise have had the chance to learn.”
COMMUNITY PARTNER

creative:connection enables participants to explore their creativity, develop social skills, supportive, trusting relationships with their peers, enhance self-confidence and self-esteem, and have fun. By providing a safe environment, the programme encourages participants to break down barriers around disability and develop understanding.

our impact

OF PARTICIPANTS IMPROVED THEIR TEAMWORK SKILLS

OF PARTICIPANTS SAID THEY DEVELOPED THEIR CONFIDENCE

read our Impact Report here

THE NEED

Arts activities have been shown to improve disabled children’s social skills, sensory perception, emotional regulation and more. Disabled people’s access to such activities, however, is often limited with barriers including lack of opportunity, inaccessible provision, exclusion from popular culture and financial cost.

“Communication is always an area where our pupils struggle and I felt that the support that was put in place for them was amazing.”
Community partner

Research also highlights a need for projects that bring disabled and non-disabled people together to challenge preconceptions and increase further their access to the arts. In a survey carried out by Scope and Mumsnet, four in 10 parents of children with disabilities reported that their child ‘rarely’ or ‘never’ has the opportunity to socialise with children without disabilities. Scope also found that two-thirds of the British public feel uncomfortable when talking to disabled people and that disabled people themselves think more interactions between disabled and non-disabled children would bring about improved attitudes towards disabled people.

We designed creative:connection to encourage the development of these positive attitudes among children and young people through the experience of collaborative creativity.