YOUNG CARERS TAKE A CREATIVE APPROACH TO MOTHER’S DAY
In March 2014, our professional jewellery designer worked with 18 young carers in Hackney to create unique button bracelets and bejewelled cards as Mother’s Day gifts, as part of our art:space project.
The children learnt basic jewellery making skills before being given the freedom to explore their creativity using a variety of materials – and of course their imaginations! Each child created something personal and memorable for a loved one and interacted with each other to build confidence and self-esteem.
One staff member commented: “I think the children will gain a sense of pride and will feel happy that they have given something to their mum that they’ve made on their own. I love all of the Create sessions and I believe the children do too!”
The children said they loved learning new skills, and one commented: “It made me feel like a person who was taken care of.”
Our Chief Executive, Nicky Goulder, said: “Making a personal gift for a loved one has to be one of the most wonderful things you can do and we are so grateful to British Land for enabling us to give young carers in Hackney this opportunity. The children have created beautiful gifts and cards for their mums, which will make them feel really special on Sunday.”
art:space is our multi-artform project for young carers in Camden, Hackney, Westminster and Southwark, funded by British Land. There are almost 250,000 children in England and Wales caring for a relative. 27% of them miss school and an overwhelming 68% experience bullying and social isolation. art:space has been designed to give young carers a break from their caring responsibilities and a chance to do something fun, imaginative and artistic with their peers in a safe, non-threatening environment. It also helps to create a network through which they can provide mutual support.
From the 18-22 September 2014, we took eight young carers to Battersea for a very special project at Mosimann’s Academy. From simmering to sizzling, flambé to frying, the young carers learnt to cook up a storm and dazzle diners in this week-long project, which culminated in a three-course VIP lunch. Thanks to our long-standing partnership with Anton Mosimann OBE, and the generosity of Mosimann’s we were able to offer young carers from Kingston, Merton and Richmond a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
After being shown around the academy, the young people used three different recipes to create delicious chocolate, nut and oat cookies, which they enjoyed eating throughout the week, a fresh batch being baked daily! The next step was to plan the meal for Friday, which included learning about taste and blind taste testing a range of different ingredients including jelly, crisps and seaweed. They then searched through Anton Mosimann’s personal collection of 6,000 recipe books from around the world, collectively deciding on a menu of:
Starter: Flaked trout on top of sliced salmon, with lemon juice and herbs
Main: Baked cod, with sweet potato chips and fresh salad
Dessert: Bread and butter pudding and fruit coulis, with homemade caramel baskets and fresh ice-cream
For the next two days, the young carers worked with our professional artist – costume and set designer Anett Black – to design the style and theme of the lunch that they were creating, with “Heightened Senses” being their chosen theme. Using centre pieces, bow-ties (a staple of Anton Mosimann), napkins tie-dyed with saffron, and menus that doubled up as placemats, they used their artistic skill and creativity to design a true dining experience.
On Thursday morning, the team met with Mosimann chef Miranda for a visit to Borough Market to enjoy a cheese tasting at Neal’s Yard Dairy and then pick high quality, fresh ingredients. The second half of the day involved technical training on dressing a table and service skills. Carrying multiple plates up three flights of steps is not easy!
On Friday, the young carers cooked the meal before presenting their restaurant experience to guests including Mark Mosimann, our Chief Executive Nicky Goulder, funders from British Land and The Queen’s Trust, and our newest Patron, concert pianist Nicholas McCarthy. Each course was introduced by the young carers, who were presented with Certificates of Achievement at the end before mingling with the guests over coffee. One of the guests wrote afterwards: “Thanks so much for inviting me to Friday’s event. It was really special and I enjoyed every minute! I thought the group was amazing, and I’m feeling hungry just thinking about the wonderful meal.“
We spoke to some of the young carers after the lunch and this is what they had to say:
“I feel very proud of what I have achieved and have loved the whole experience. I would definitely do it again!”
“I felt proud of the comments from the guests who seemed to be impressed. My family would be proud of me”.
Sean (not his real name) was one of the young carers who took part.
“I found out about this project through my support worker and thought it would be a good idea to come along, seeing as I love to cook! My mum usually does the main cooking at home but I often make dishes like lasagne and spaghetti bolognaise for her and my three younger brothers. I have an extended family and I am always cooking for them, friends and even people I’ve met on this project!
“Although I care for my mum, I always think she is the one who cares for me! She is supportive of me and my decisions and one of those is hopefully to do a cooking course at college. I hope one day in the future to be able to run my own restaurant which serves a variety of food from around the world!
“I learnt a lot about cooking compared to what I knew before so I really think that this will help me out in my chosen career path. The other carers on the project are all from different areas but we’re only a short train ride away from each other so hopefully we will meet up. We’ve been working in teams which helped us get to know each other.
“I was so excited about putting on the final meal, getting in the kitchen and producing something. Projects like this get me out of my house and out of the area I live in which is refreshing. I get bored easily but I didn’t find that in this project.”
NICHOLAS MCCARTHY VISITS OUR MOSIMANN’S PROJECT FOR YOUNG CARERS
By Create Patron Nicholas McCarthy
For me the summer is never a time to lounge around and lap up the two weeks of sun that we get in Britain. It’s usually a time when I seem to spend most of the days in concert halls. This particular summer has been no exception to that rule and I found myself performing here there and everywhere as well as a spot of Friday night presenting on BBC4 for the BBC Proms. To say July and August have been busy is a bit of an understatement. So it was a delightful surprise during all the madness of my career when I was asked to become Patron of Create.
I like to do a lot of charity work and am Patron of quite a few, however I always like to be selective of which ones I want to work with. The charity needs to touch me in some way and this certainly was the case with Create.
What I love about the work Create does is the fact that it doesn’t focus on one ‘group’ of people. It manages to help a hugely diverse range of people who without it would be forgotten or over-looked. I naturally accepted this exciting invitation to become Patron and I was looking forward to discussing the ways in which I could really benefit the charity.
I was then invited to my first event as the charity’s new patron. A group of young carers from Kingston, Merton and Richmond were bought together for a week-long project at Mosimann’s Academy in Battersea. If you are unsure what Mosimann’s is then let me explain. Anton Mosimann is a Michelin star chef who was Maître Chef des Cuisines at the Dorchester Hotel for thirteen years during which time its restaurant achieved a rating of two Michelin stars.
After leaving the Dorchester, he created a private dining club called Mosimann’s, a cookery school, and other enterprises in the hospitality industry. He has also presented television programmes in the UK and Switzerland. On arrival to Mosimann’s Academy I was greeted by a group of young carers who seemed as though they had been working in the high-end hospitality industry for years.
One young man promptly asked if I would like a glass of Chablis, which I naturally accepted (he certainly didn’t need to twist my arm). Then another of the young team offered me a canapé that she had made herself. She even talked me through the ingredients and demonstrated her clear passion for food. Their week-long project was very much all their own doing. They worked alongside one of Mosimann’s chefs who also took them to Borough Market to find ingredients and help design a menu for the event. On two of the days the young carers even worked with Create’s acclaimed set and costume designer, Anett Black to design every aspect of the event. Placemats, menus, table cloths, centre pieces and even the choice of cutlery were very well thought out and put together beautifully and elegantly but with a youthful twist (tie dyed napkins).
Once we all sat down to our lunch, one of the budding chefs stood up and described the starter, which was cured salmon with flaked trout on a summer salad. She spoke with such eloquence and assurance you could have thought she was a part time Maître d’ of a Mayfair restaurant yet after the event she shared with me how nervous she was about getting up in front of people as she had never done it before. We certainly couldn’t tell.
The main was baked cod with sweet potato chips and a delicious salad, which was all expertly cooked. As I looked around the table there was not one plate with anything left on it. Always a good sign I believe. Then, for me the pièce de résistance was expertly explained by another of the young chefs, bread and butter pudding with fresh ice cream and a caramel basket.
Well, what can I say, it was absolutely superb but what astounded me more was the professional presentation. It was certainly a showstopper. Even Mark Mosimann (Anton Mosimann’s son) was impressed with the array of technique shown to pull off such a dessert. It certainly wasn’t like the stodgy bread and butter pudding I remember from school. I decided to hang around afterwards as I wanted to speak to some of the young carers who had obviously worked so hard to put this event on. Every single one of them said they enjoyed it so much, and a few of them even expressed their interest in furthering their cooking career.
Watch out Mr Mosimann, this group of young people are definitely a talented bunch.
In August 2013, we took our inspired:arts project to Carers Support Merton where our professional artist Phoebe Davies worked with 13 young carers. They investigated personal identity and self-expression through photography, performance and writing. Each participant composed a photograph with their individual response to what identity means to them, which was exhibited at the end of the project.
Aamilah (15) cares for her younger brother, who is 11 and is diagnosed as having autism and behavioural difficulties. As he can be very demanding (particularly with regard to attention) and can display very challenging behaviour, Aamilah’s caring responsibilities have often impacted on her ability to engage freely in personal interests and socialise with her school friends. Aamilah joined Carers Support Merton in 2009, having recently relocated (along with her mother and brother) from Newcastle to London. This transition was incredibly difficult for the family, requiring them to build completely new support networks. After the project, she told us:
“I enjoyed creating an alter ego. Before the project, I’ve always been interested in psychology and alter egos come under abnormal psychology so I thought that was really interesting. I also enjoyed creating the mind maps about our identity.
“I feel more confident about talking about my identity, which is something I would normally shy away from doing because it’s personal to me. It has been quite hard because you make yourself vulnerable. You talk about things that are personal to you, which is a big deal. I’m sort of looking forward to sharing my work [at the exhibition] but I’m nervous about people seeing the work. I really like the rest of the group’s work!
“It’s been interesting working with an artist. I have enjoyed working with someone who knows what they are talking about, someone professional. I have met other artists before and they were so full of themselves but Phoebe is really down to earth, which is a good thing. You can talk to her. It’s been good working with other people because I don’t usually, I usually prefer to work by myself because I have a strong idea of what I want to do and I’m a bit of a control freak! But it has been good to work collaboratively; it’s been beneficial having to adapt to work with others. I have enjoyed working with everyone here because we get on. I like the idea of young carers coming together (for projects like this)!”
Aamilah’s Exhibit Title: Declaration of faith – Shahada
“Religion is the foundation for my life; it has helped me through so many dark times and always kept me between the lines of both right and wrong. I owe so much to my religion for guiding through what could be considered a difficult and unsettling adolescence. My photo displays what is known the Muslim world as the Shahada, which is the declaration of belief in the oneness of God and acceptance of Muhammad as God’s Prophet. It translates from Arabic as: “I bear witness that there is no deity worthy to be worshiped but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.”
Aamilah’s name has been changed to protect anonymity.
Rashmi (52) is the primary carer for her son Richard (27), who has ASD (autism spectrum disorders). They live in Hackney on a limited income: she had to leave her job in the civil service due to her own health problems. Here, she talks about her experience of creative:release, Create’s multi-artform project for adult carers in Hackney.
“I have been coming to the centre since 1987. I started attending shortly after Richard’s birth to get support, share ideas and meet new people. I’m involved with a mixture of activities, such as celebrations and exercise classes, although I mainly go to support group meetings. I like the centre, it’s an open place where you can always ask questions and it’s a way to meet other carers and professionals.
“I first learnt about creative:release through Valuing Carers, a group I attend at the centre, and the project has been wonderful! You don’t have to be artistic. Even if you’re not confident [in your art skills] you can attempt things, no one’s going to tell you off! I’ve enjoyed meeting new people. It’s nice to meet other carers and see what they’re going through, too. I tell everyone and anyone about it so they can join in!
“The ‘Seasons of Life’ theme was a challenge. When we first thought about it, my brain was overloaded! There are so many different ideas! But then you pick little things and you create. Sheridan [Create’s sculptor] has been wonderful. She’s introduced us to how to share your ideas and use your ideas in different formats. She’s taught us that you don’t need to be Picasso! I really enjoyed sharing ideas and looking at how you’re going to develop the final piece. I’m enjoying putting the final touches to [the sculpture] and hopefully that will be it!
“Projects like this are important because they develop people’s skills and open you out to your local community. They help to create a network of people and you can have fun. I want to let the government know that despite the cuts we can still have fun! The project has given me time away not to think about the cuts. You should invite Prince Harry, William, Kate and Boris Johnson to come and see what we’ve done!”
ACTRESS LORRAINE CHASE UNVEILS “AN ACT OF LOVE” AT CARERS LEWISHAM
This morning, I had the very great pleasure of attending the unveiling by British actress Lorraine Chase (pictured in the white hat) of a new mural at Carers Lewisham. This was created by the staff team there under the guidance of our artist, Raksha Patel, to celebrate Carers Lewisham’s 25th anniversary.
Lorraine chatted to many of the carers who attended the event and spoke movingly of the role her mother had played in caring for her father for ten years. She then unveiled a stunning magnolia tree with pills, bags and a wheelchair discarded at the base, and birds and butterflies flying freely in a sunny sky.
The mural was created during two workshops that we led with Carers Lewisham staff, the first of which enabled them to decide collaboratively on a theme and image for their mural – they unanimously decided on the tree to reflect the stability of the service that they offer and the growth experienced by the carers who attend the centre. The beautiful details included within the mural were inspired by the staff team’s extensive experience of working with the client group – a wonderful gift to all who visit. The outlines of the design were “chalked up” by Raksha, allowing the team to paint up the vibrant mural on the second workshop day using a “painting-by-numbers” approach – this now graces the wall at the entrance to the carers centre, providing a warm welcome to all who visit.
After the workshop, a staff member said: “I really enjoyed it. I’ve had a chance to think of ideas that represent the work that Carers Lewisham does and to paint without fear.”
Carers Lewisham is a wonderful, supportive place that offers a warm welcome to everyone. The tree that the team has created for the carers, “as an act of love”, Lorraine called it, just adds to that sense of support and welcome; and I think the images are a beautiful, inspiring metaphor for the journey that the carers travel as they use the service offered. What a privilege to have been part of such a wonderful project. Be inspired by the photos of the workshops, mural and unveiling.
In collaboration with Carers Support Merton (CSM), Create delivered a series of workshops as part of its inspired:arts programme for young carers in 2012/13.
The project reached 32 young carers aged 11-16 at CSM, who worked with Create’s professional artists to produce original dance, drama, songs, sculpture and photographs. The workshops were inclusive, self-contained and designed to allow the participants to arrive and leave as they needed to, so that each young carer could balance their “time out” at the project with their caring responsibilities.
Kojo, one of the carers who attends CSM, lives with his mum in a quiet suburban area. She is from Ghana and speaks little English. She has epilepsy and is partially blind and, with the language/communication difficulties, is unable to work. The family survives on a very low budget and Kojo is his mother’s primary carer. He has Asperger’s syndrome himself, which can impact on his understanding of the subtleties of communication and language.
As a result, he has led a sheltered life. He struggled to make friends in his area and at school, so at weekends he would stay at home doing things for mum, such as accompanying her to an all-night church service despite not really wanting to go. He does most of the shopping and helps her interpret letters and bills. Kojo’s mum is quite independent but if she has a seizure, Kojo knows what to do – CSM has done first aid courses with him. Here, he talks about his experience of inspired:arts.
“I took part in the drama, sculpting, photography and song-writing workshops. I hadn’t really done song-writing or sculpture before. My favourite was probably the drama – we were doing improvisation, making things up on the spot. It was pretty funny sometimes. We did different games using improvisation. There was one that we played called ‘Death in a Minute’. We got random scenarios and within a minute we had to find some way to die, and it had to be different to the other person’s. So sometimes it could get pretty random. The person I was with, he apparently tripped on a chair, hit his head, got a concussion and died; and I got eaten by a shark. We only had to die once, though!
“I really enjoyed the artists who led the projects. It really helped that they were professional – it made it more enjoyable in a way, more real. Olly [Create’s drama artist] was really funny … and he obviously knows what he’s doing because he’s done theatre. On the last day of the drama, we played a few of the improvisation games that we’d done, with the parents. I actually didn’t know about it till I heard about it, so it kind of threw me off a little bit, but it was alright. I was a little bit anxious to be performing but I felt proud afterwards.
“I learnt many new things from the workshops: I learnt better ways, in photography, using different features on a camera, like macro/micro. And using things the zoom as well. And there was loads of teamwork – I’d known the other carers before the project but I think I know them better now. It was easy to work with them. If I could pick any art form next, I’d like to try painting. I’m not normally keen on painting but I’m willing to try it! I wasn’t really interested in photography before I started doing it with Create, and now I’m a little bit more interested in it. Our photos got exhibited, which was quite good. We got to see all our work.
“When we were taking photos during that project there was this fair going on, and I took a picture of these … they weren’t exactly lollipops, but they were on lollipop sticks … and they were these doughnut balls or something. They had icing on them and I used macro when I was taking a picture of them, and quite a few people liked that picture! It was also in the exhibition, and sold! I didn’t actually expect that. I’m studying Media A-Level at the moment and I think a lot of these workshops, particularly photography, are going to help me. I feel that I’m more confident now.”
Kojo’s name has been changed to protect anonymity.
Photo: Kojo’s ‘cake popsicle’ photo taken during Create’s photography workshops, which later sold at the exhibition.
BRITISH LAND ON WHY THEY SUPPORT OUR PROGRAMME FOR YOUNG CARERS, ART:SPACE
Since 2007, we have been helping to change the lives of young carers in Camden, Hackney and Westminster through our art:space programme thanks to funding from British Land. Here, the company’s Charity & Volunteer Executive, Jo Hammond talks about the partnership:
“British Land is one of Europe’s largest real estate investment trusts. I work with our corporate-level charity and community partners and with teams at our properties around the UK to encourage community investment activities. We recognise that our business activities have wide-ranging impact, which can affect the lives of a significant number of people. We aim to be the best neighbour we can be. The young carers projects we fund are in the London boroughs where our key office properties are based – Camden, Hackney and Westminster.
We started working with Create back in 2003. Then in 2007, the charity forged a partnership with Westminster Young Carers Service and ran a creative writing and photography project entitled Who Am I?. It was a great success, so we’ve been working with the charity on similar projects ever since. art:space allows the young carers to get a break from their caring responsibilities and spend time with others in their situation, forming relationships, developing communication skills and building confidence and self-esteem, whilst, importantly, having fun.
Create works with professional artists who are carefully vetted, so I can be confident that those delivering the projects are the best people for the job. The quality of their project delivery is fantastic, and the Create team are incredibly committed to their work – they can be truly inspiring. When I visit the projects it’s always great to meet the young people and see first-hand some of the benefits. I’ve visited a variety of projects over the years and the young people are always incredibly engaged as they are so well put together – it’s wonderful to see them having some time to be children and be made to feel special. For our next set of workshops, we are focusing on using the artworks at our Head Office and the public art at our other estates in London. I can’t wait to learn what’s in store!”
