empowering creativity for life
We work to inspire children and young people to harness the power of their creativity, and to use it as a compass to guide and uplift them through life. We believe in learning through play (at all ages), and we’re passionate about creating nurturing spaces for unrestrained exploration and experimentation. We provide structure, activities and ideas, whilst encouraging people to follow their instincts.
We don’t run technical, skills-focused art ‘lessons’, and we are not teachers - we are creative catalysts! Whilst participants will inevitably develop and improve their creative skills along the way, our core focus is always on personal growth - on expanding perspectives, encouraging self-reflection, and helping children to develop a stronger and more confident sense of their identity, their values and their strengths.
“My child really enjoyed the classes, felt more confident with her skills, felt independent to be there on her own and in general felt happy and confident :)”
We are proud members of Young Westminster and Young Barnet Foundations
Some of our recent work with children and young people…
Art for Life @ St Augustine’s
In January 2022 we began a 6 month residency project at St Augustine’s CE High School, Kilburn. We connected, engaged and empowered over 1000 students and the whole staff team through our work!
Summer fun in RBKC Libraries
We were thrilled to be asked to run a series of half-day workshops in RBKC libraries as part of their Summer Holiday Activity provision, funded by the DFES.
”My daughter loved it and seemed so happy and proud of what she achieved by the end. She loved drawing with her non-dominant hand!”
Self-Love Zine Workshops for City Lions
As part of the Westminster Creative Collective project, we delivered a series of zine-making workshops in primary schools, encouraging children to self-reflect and draw things that make them feel good.
Family Sketchfest 2022
We hosted our first ever family-friendly ‘Sketchfest’ on Fellowship Square, Walthamstow. Over 2 days, we delivered a variety of fun activities, drew live portraits, and got parents and kids drawing each other too!
Summer Art Club in Westminster
In summer 2023 we ran our first ever holiday art club! Over the course of 2 weeks, 30 children aged 6-12 enjoyed a mix of fun visual arts activities designed to build their creative confidence and social skills.
Theatre-inspired workshops for Go Live
We’ve loved being part of Go Live’s Family First Nights programme, which enables families in challenging circumstances to visit the theatre for the first time.
”The whole session was such a brilliant celebration of the power of drawing - way beyond what we expected. Thanks again!”
Connecting Young Carers
Working in partnership with Family Lives Westminster, we deliver fun social sketching sessions that give young people with caring responsiblities the chance to relax, create and connect with others who ‘get it’.
Family Sketchfest 2023
For our second Family Sketchfest we moved to Westminster, as it’s the borough where we’ve made the most impact and have the most reach with families. It was a fun, if rainy event!
“We worked with Dulcie for our artist led workshops for our Creative Collective programme. She was absolutely amazing! Very professional throughout leading up to the sessions and engaged the students thoroughly which led to them creating some great pieces. We are very keen to work with Sketch Appeal again in 2024!”
Sydney Frankland, Westminster City Lions
Social Connection & Self-Love with Teenage Cancer Trust
We’re so proud to have been working with Teenage Cancer Trust for the past 4 years - creating online offerings and running workshops at their brilliant bi-annual ‘Find Your Sense of Tumour’ events.
It’s been a huge privilege to be part of these events - hugely rewarding and incredibly inspiring. TCT’s exemplary team do a brilliant job of putting fun high on the agenda, and sometimes you have to remind yourself why all these brilliant, expressive and inspiring young people are all congregated under one roof for the weekend.
It’s devastating to think how receiving a cancer diagnosis at such a young age would feel. Imagine, you’re just getting to know and grow into yourself, and then cancer completely derails your whole sense of identity and self - your social life, your relationships, your ambitions for the future.
At FYSOT, our workshops offer young people chance to interact, draw and re-connect with themselves - to feel at ease being drawn and to see and find themselves through art. They also create space for people to chat and share their experiences of cancer whilst sketching side by side - invaluable time for peer support. We create safe and uplifting sessions (and great playlists!) that give people ‘permission’ to play, to feel relaxed and empowered by their creativity, and ultimately to free their mind from the anxiety of what they are living through.
“In my role as Head of Youth Engagement and Participation, I have worked with Dulcie since 2019 to develop a number of face-to-face and digital sessions to support a range of young people (13-27) to reassess how they see themselves and how to tell their stories in a different way. Dulcie approaches each new project with passion but also a listening ear to the needs of the audience. She is a fantastic colleague to work with and I know the young people really enjoy the sessions she delivers and the innovative ways in which she engages with them. I recommend her skills to any work around self-development.”
Kelly Scott, Teenage Cancer Trust
We believe the methodologies used in The Art of Self-Love could make a difference to many more people living with cancer, and rebuilding their life after it. We’re really passionate about growing our work in this area, so please get in touch if this is relevant and interesting to you.