The Hands Together 2023 Project Round Up
The 2023 Hands Together Project has now come to a close. We’ve evaluated the results and we are now ready to share more detail on the outcomes for the young people, their families, our team and the wider community:
Introduction
Hands Together provided an opportunity for young people to take part in a music activity outside of school & enabled them to come together for a uniquely creative experience, comprising multiple art forms including songwriting, recording, storyboarding and filming.
Participants worked collaboratively, building their creative musical skills through exploration of themes of inclusivity through the project theme of Hands Together. Young people were empowered in a safe, creative environment to raise their voice and tell their story and they directed the outcome of the project. During the project, we had two music assistants in the early stages of the music career who built their skills to support the younger participants and are supporting us to develop a pathway for working on our future projects.
The project culminated in a live screening of the final video for friends, family and the wider community at local arts venue Twenty-one.
Taken during the Music Video filming week for ‘Unity’
Feedback from the team who delivered the project has been overwhelmingly positive. The project was a chance to bring their variety of creative talents together and this inspired the young people who took part. They said ‘it was brilliant and unique - let's do something similar again.’ Each of the team had their own personal objectives to gain from the project which all felt they had achieved. These included; how to make connections with students and seeing them grow & learn.
Music making for all
43% of young people that took part in the project attended for free. They primarily live in the areas of high poverty in Southend, of which some wards are in the top 10% most deprived in England. By ensuring our activities were free for these young people it gave them the chance to take part without financial barriers. When attending the sessions the young people are not in any way made aware of how each was covered.
Hands Together supported young people’s wellbeing & mental health: playing and making music increased confidence and empowered positive self-expression through song or creative writing.
The theme 'Hands Together' enabled participants to find positive messages about the city in which they live, creating a new sense of pride of place and belonging, aligning with Southend Council’s own vision and plans. The project has also reduced loneliness through participants working collaboratively; creating new and developing existing social networks.
Our feedback surveys from the young people has highlighted to us;
Inclusion and making new friends were key highlights for the young people.
Specific skills such as being behind the scenes of a shoot, green screens, working as a team, singing in a group were all important factors.
94% said they felt comfortable being themselves, and all felt part of the Song School as the team work element developed.
All felt they had achieved their goals, including; making friends and music, learning new skills, being confident and having fun
Feedback from parent / caregivers confirmed what the participants told us -
100% felt that their child changed positively as a result of their participation in terms of their mental health, independence and especially confidence to try new things.
The skills developed included; teamwork, confidence, performance, reaching goals and the different roles in writing and producing music.
100% agreed that they felt part of Song School and really liked the song and video.
Final Piece
In addition to the final piece, we interviewed participants throughout the project. Click here to watch one of the shorts we created from the interviews, via Instagram.
The final piece can viewed below - we think it’s pretty great! We hope you do too.
This project was made possible thanks to support from our project partners:
