Young Person Inclusion Network (YP-in)
Project Blog 12/09/08
Bursary recipient Harley Alison (Hull) is preparing to showcase her fantastic multi-sensory work through an interactive exhibition in Hull on 4th October 2008. The exhibition will share Harley's thoughts and experiences with visitors through photography in a way that anyone can access - through the use of tactile diagrams and sound recordings alongside the images. More details in her own words are below.
Date: 4th October 2008
Venue: Hull & East Riding Institute for the Blind
Beech Holme,
Beverley Road,
Hull
HU5 1NF
Further details: simon.berry@kids.org.uk
"Hi, my name is Harley Alison and I am 14 years old. I attend Northcott Special School. I am blind and have total sight loss. Outside of school I attend a project called YP-in (Young People's Inclusion Network). This project is about inclusion and including young people into the community. At the minute I am also working with another charity called PhotoVoice and I am doing a bursary with them and I am going to hold my own exhibition. I have chosen the theme of my exhibition ‘Sight through Touch’ to be a few of my favourite things. I have been working alongside Fiona and she is a very nice person and supports me to take my pictures. I think one day I would maybe like to be a photographer."
Harley Alison, Aged 14
Project Blog 31/02/08
The exhibition of work from the project, Nothing Special, opened with a launch party on Wednesday 26th March at the Novas Contemporary Urban Centre near London Bridge.
The exhibition looked fantastic and attracted hundreds of visitors who admired the achievement of the young people while gaining an insight into their worlds. The work was accompanied by captions written by the young people, and issue-based noticeboards featuring the thoughts and views of young people introducing thematic sections.
The work has also been made into a beautiful photographic book, also named Nothing Special, which will now allow the fantastic work produced by the young people to be spread far and wide, while carrying their messages to those who can make a difference to the way inclusion is approached in our society. To obtain a copy of the book contact Matt Daw: matt@photovoice.org / 020 7033 3878.
Below are a few of the comments left by visitors to the exhibition.
"Stunning and inspiring exhibition."
"Incredibly inspiring - we need to see more!"
"A fascinating and really powerfully presented exhibition - thanks for the chance to see this work."
"Really enjoyable; varied images and messages, good captions, issues well brought out."
Project Blog 14/12/07
Following the completion of workshops, exhibitions of work produced by the disabled young people have taken place in each of the five regions YPIN operates in. Held in fully accessible venues and featuring framed photographs, projections, collages, interactive videos and tactile images, the exhibitions have touched hundreds of people across the UK and have allowed the young people to share their personal views, messages and dreams with friends, parents and the general public.
A national exhibition showcasing work from all regions will take place in March 2008, coinciding with the launch of a publication using the photographs and thoughts of the young people on how it is to grow up with a disability in the UK.
Applications for bursaries are now closed and a total of ten have been given approval to go ahead. Already some have started, including a trip to Ireland by one young person, who aims to use the photos she took on her trip to create a Lonely Planet style guide to travelling in ireland as a wheelchair user.
A project gallery showcasing photographs from all five regions will be online here before Christmas - be sure to visit again soon to see the fantastic work produced and the powerful messages the young people have chosen to convey through their photographs.
Project Blog 23/11/07
Most regions have now completed their workshops, and the work produced looks fantastic. Preparations are now underway for regional exhibitions which will allow the young people to showcase the photographs and messages they have produced to their families, friends and the public. Specific to each region, these exhibiitons will be fully accessible and will allow each young person to show a large amount of the work they have produced, whereas the final exhibition in March 2008 will showcase work from all regions and therefore less from each photographer.
The next phase of the project is now in motion - the bursaries. Applications from young people in all five regions are flooding in with ideas for personal projects for which funding up to £500 each will be granted. The bursary scheme will allow those young people with strong ideas of how they wish to take their new photography skills further, to embark upon more in-depth projects with strong focused outputs. Applications given approval so far include a grant for the purchase of customised photographic equipment, a documented trip to Paris to experience the differences and similarities in attitudes to inclusion and accessibility across the channel, and the production of posters exploring the issues around starting college.