New Shoreham project sees young people create a piece of social history through art

Our World in Our Words is an art platform launched by Lis Long from Shoreham, who also runs the creative community project Apron which produces the popular Shoreham Light Parade.

The project is being delivered in collaboration with The Girls’ Network, YMCA Downslink, DMY Creative, Anna Twinam Cauchi and Watch This Sp_ce.

The idea for the initiative came from a conversation about the free art and craft resource packs Apron was distributing via the local food banks and HomeStart scheme.

These packs were funded by Adur Community Grants Emergency Covid-19 fund and tailored to different age groups.

Lis felt there was an exciting opportunity to do something interactive with the packs for young people, giving them a chance to express themselves and to create a piece of social history through art, using their words to describe their world at this moment.

From talking with young people and local creatives, Lis worked to create a clear and engaging call to action for people to get involved.

The project steps are simple: young people are given a pack, they make art with it and they upload it to the project. The team then makes an online gallery to display the work, which will also be shown in a real world exhibition and included in a book which contributors can keep as a piece of their history.

Art materials included in the pack include fine liners, charcoal pencils, sketch books and brush markers.

The first batch of packs were delivered to Southwick and Fishersgate Community covid-19 Hub, who are working alongside the foodbanks, and The Girls’ Network mentees at Shoreham Academy.

More packs were dispatched to YMCA Downslink, SOLD, HomeStart West Sussex and Esteem in the following weeks to reach a diverse group of young people from the local communities of Adur and Worthing.

A fundraising drive has been launched to support the project – email [email protected]