A sustained relational and cultural offer for residential and supported settings
YAW asks what becomes possible when an artist is not brought into a service simply to deliver an activity, but becomes a familiar part of its relational and cultural life.
Creative Practice in the Life of the Home is one way of putting that question into practice. I work regularly within residential homes, supported accommodation and other settings where young people live or receive ongoing support.
The work is not a programme into which young people are expected to fit. Its regularity is planned; its content is not. I bring the capacities of an artist and relational practitioner; curiosity, attention, adaptability, practical creative skill and an openness to people’s ideas, into the life of the home.
My strongest and most recent experience is with young people aged 16 and over, particularly in settings connected with care, housing, homelessness and the transition to adulthood. I also work with younger adolescents, and the offer can be adapted for services working with 11–16-year-olds. The same approach may be considered for adult residential and supported services where there is an appropriate fit.
How it works
I return to the same setting over an agreed period, ideally on the same day each week. This allows me to become a familiar and consistent presence rather than an occasional activity provider.
An eight-week pilot offers an initial structure, although its length and frequency can be adapted to the setting.
Regularity matters. A young person does not have to be immediately ready to participate, know what they want to do or produce something within a scheduled session. They might begin by watching, talking, sharing an interest, suggesting an idea, or choosing not to take part.
Over time, I want a young person to know that an idea need not remain a passing thought: they can bring it to me and we can work out whether, and how, it might become possible.
An open brief
The starting point may be a drawing, a song, a film, a game, a recipe seen online, a spoken-word event, a community gardening opportunity, an open day, a cultural visit, a conversation, or simply a walk by the river.
Some interests will lead to making something. Others may involve finding information, trying an activity, meeting people, going somewhere, changing a room or communal space, or deciding that an idea is not for them after all.
The artist’s role is not to prescribe the content. It is to make connections, respond to what emerges, bring useful skills and resources, and help create a route from interest to action. This may be creative, practical, social or cultural; often, it will be a mixture of all four.
The work is not measured by whether everybody attends, produces an artwork or contributes to a collective outcome. What matters is whether somebody has found a way to express an interest, exercise some choice, try something new, or experience a part of the world as more available to them.
Art and making
Art remains part of the offer, but it does not govern every encounter. Drawing, painting, writing, film, photography, sound, digital media, collecting and informal making may all become useful ways of thinking, communicating, experimenting or spending time together.
At the beginning of the work, every young person is offered their own blank hardback journal or sketchbook. It belongs to them. They might draw, write, collect images, record ideas, alter its cover, plan something larger or leave it blank until it has a use.
It is not a worksheet, case record or outcome-monitoring tool. I do not collect or inspect journals as evidence of participation. Each young person decides what, if anything, they want to share. The journal remains with them when the project ends.
One-to-one time can form part of the wider offer where it is appropriate and voluntarily chosen. It may involve making, talking, researching an interest, planning an idea or simply having space to think. It is not art therapy, psychotherapy or clinical intervention.
Working beyond the home
Some ideas need only time and conversation within the setting. Others may involve attending something, travelling locally or connecting with an opportunity beyond the service.
Where this forms part of the work, arrangements are agreed in advance with the service. I can accompany a young person as part of an agreed activity, but I am not commissioned as their sole care or supervisory provision. The service retains responsibility for safeguarding, consent, risk arrangements and any additional staffing required.
This protects both the young person’s right to make age-appropriate choices and the service’s responsibilities for their welfare.
Working with the service
The service identifies a consistent member of staff as a point of contact and retains responsibility for care, safeguarding and risk management. Relevant information is shared on a need-to-know basis, so the work can take place safely without requiring unrestricted access to personal histories.
Conversation with staff forms part of the process. This may include considering what helps or prevents voluntary participation, how young people can have greater influence over their environment, what opportunities are already available locally, and what might remain after the pilot ends.
YAW complements the work of care and therapeutic teams. It is not clinical assessment, therapy or a substitute for care work.
Understanding value
The value of the work is not measured simply by attendance or the number of objects produced. Reflection considers what became possible over time.
- Did a young person bring forward an idea or interest of their own?
- Did they influence the direction of the work or their environment?
- Did they try, attend or connect with something that might otherwise have remained out of reach?
- Did interests or capacities become visible that had not previously found a place?
- Did new relationships or forms of participation develop?
- What do young people and staff want to retain or continue?
At the end of a pilot, I provide a concise, anonymised reflection on what developed and possible routes for continuation. This is not an assessment of individual young people or staff.
Commissioning YAW
Each piece of work begins with an exploratory conversation about the setting, the people it supports and what has prompted the enquiry.
I then develop a proposal covering duration and frequency, the likely balance between individual and shared work, practical and safeguarding arrangements, materials, travel and fees.
An initial pilot can take place within one home or supported setting. Longer-term work, or work across several settings, can develop from there.
To discuss bringing YAW into a residential or supported service, please get in touch.
YAW 