Little Lights
“There’s a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” Leonard Cohen
LITTLE LIGHTS is a creative research project exploring young people’s creativity and mental health, throughout Spring/Summer 2022. A variety of creative research methods were used to facilitate discussion and debate around young people’s experiences of mental health and how their personal creative outlets impacted their wellbeing. The young people drew out key themes which then they explored using their own chosen art forms, inc drawing, crochet, jewellery, literature, music, screen-printing and set design, and culminated in a night of performance and dialogue in a local cafe, sharing their findings and sparking vital conversation around the issues presented.
“Little Lights was a chance for young people to express their mental health in a creative way, instead of just dealing with it and being sad it gave us a chance to make stuff, draw, make and perform music, make crochet, badges, t-shirts, patches, it was just really nice. Getting to make a song and perform it to a completely different type of group was really important, cause it was all centred around mental health and I got to talk about mental health in a way that I usually like doing, instead of just sitting
down and talking about it, it was about making it into something and getting help with that.” Lewis, 18
“Little Lights was a real heart-felt, fun and authentic showcase of emotion, creativity and ideas - something young people do so well. I loved how immersive the live performances and activities were, it was a perfect way to engage and create conversations around mental health. The HC relaxed and inclusive ethos was transferred into Blend that night, I loved the atmosphere! Lots of food for thought.“
Laura Cooney, Mental Health Education Officer NHS Tayside CAMHS
Listen up.
Little Lights project ended with young people hosting a night of new music and creative activities in Blend Cafe, which provided a platform for local people and practitioners to meet, enlarge the conversation around mental health and hear brand new songs written and performed by some of the young people. Here you can listen to the performances from the evening…
Key artists involved:
Alex Buchan
Amelia Grajewska
Dajana Witkowska
Emily Hamilton
Hannah Hegarty
Holly McLaren
Lewis Holden
Lewis Martin
Rachael Lindsay
Wanesa Wójtowicz
with help from the wider HC family
Special thanks to:
Dundee Contemporary Arts - https://www.dca.org.uk
Gordy Craw - https://www.gordycraw.com
Lydia Smith - https://www.misslydiaphoto.com
Natla Jewellery - https://bit.ly/40XcjzV
Skye Sutherland - https://bit.ly/3KvSlH4
Su Shaw - http://shhemusic.com
Blend Creates - https://bit.ly/3KwPwWw
LITTLE LIGHTS was made possible by funding from
DVVA Communities Mental Health & Wellbeing Fund: - https://dvva.scot