Meet young carer Layla: “THERE ARE NO RULES TO CREATIVITY!”
Young carers from Tunbridge Wells participated in our art:space 3D sculpture project with Create artist Sam Haynes. Developed in 2007 in partnership with British Land, art:space was our first project with young carers and has been running for 16 years. The project continues to give young carers vital time to do something for themselves and a way to express themselves through the creative arts.
Young carer Layla (11) took part in our art:space 3D sculpture project and shared her experiences with us.
“On this project we have been making crowns out of wire and lots of different materials such as foam and plastic jewels. We cut the foam how we wanted to and stuck it to the crown and it was it was really fun. We’re making a sculpture of two crowns which is going to be displayed in Royal Victoria Place. “I’ve enjoyed making new friends on this project, getting messy, and overall just creating stuff because I don’t often get the opportunity to be creative at home. I’ve learnt that sculpture looks quite easy but really, it’s not. You need practice. And obviously you get really messy, so you need to be used to that as well. But when I complete my artwork, I feel like I’ve achieved something. It’s like a reward that I made for myself. It’s the finishing touch. At the end of a race, you get a medal. At the end of an art project, you get that final piece of artwork. It makes you feel really happy.
at the end of a race, you get a medal. at the end of an art project, you get that final piece of artwork. it makes you feel really happy.
layla
art is everywhere
“The project made me feel really positive emotions. I’ve been a creative person since I was young but I don’t normally have many resources to make art at home, so it’s nice to do something different. If you’ve been painting your whole life, it’s nice to try a different artform. If you have that creative mindset, you can do anything. You don’t always have to use your paints and your hands, you can use your feet if you want to. There’s no rules to creativity.
“We would have nothing if it wasn’t for art, because art isn’t just painting. Art is making things, art can even be baking, it can be cooking. Putting up a shelf is artistic because you’re decorating your house. Sometimes you’re creating and you don’t notice it, so it’s really important because we do it much more than we expect.
There are no rules to creativity!
layla
“One thing this project has taught me is that you don’t always have to be good at art to be creative. Not everyone is going to like your artwork anyway. You can be the best artist in the world and still, not everyone is going to like your work. Someone could look at an art project and say ‘that is the best art project I’ve ever seen’, and then someone could say ‘I really don’t like it’. But it shouldn’t stop you creating. The point of being an artist is you don’t care what other people think, you care what you think. If you don’t like it, that’s when you need to improve it. But if someone else doesn’t like it, don’t listen to them. That shouldn’t affect you because you made that piece of art and you should be happy that you made it.
creating together
“Working with [Create artist] Sam was good. I find her funny. Working with the rest of the group was very entertaining because I made new friends. It was really cool because the group is really funny and kind and we joked around all the time. The project has taught me independence because I’ve learned that I don’t always need to be with my friends. Being creative with other people on the project helped me make new friends and build connections. If you make good friends through something creative, you’ll want to be creative together again. It’s not like you meet them and then you never see them again. You can actually meet someone and say, ‘Hey, I think we’re going to be pretty good friends. We should stay in touch.”
art:space is a partnership with British Land.
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH BRITISH LAND
BRITISH LAND: A 20-YEAR PARTNERSHIP
“We focus on how we can maximise our social impact and use that to create thriving places. By working with Create, we’ve been able to leverage our strengths and our resources to achieve this.”