Connecting Our Communities?

After all the protesting, petitioning and even trying to work with the council to find solutions, Summer 2017 saw the implementation of connecting communities phase 2 on the youth service, the council closed its youth clubs and ceased providing an open access youth service.  This is the end of an era and I couldn't just let it be forgotten without acknowledging the valuable work the service and the city's youth workers have done over the years for Coventry's young people and for me personally.

As a young person I never went to youth club, I was too busy vandalising stuff and getting into mischief. The council decided to crack down on graffiti, it was a matter of time till the police were at the door and I was getting prosecuted for being a public nuisance.

After being prosecuted and before I had set up Bring Colour, I didn't really have any direction and was a bit lost. One day I floated into Yardley St youth club in Hillfields and met a youth worker called Nina Mankoo. Nina must of seen something in me as she gave me my first opportunity to deliver a graffiti workshop with the young people at her centre. This was where my journey with the youth service started.

Its been over twelve years since that first session. When I started I didn't really know what goes on at a youth club, what a youth worker did or what youth work even was.


Over the years I've worked at a lot of different centres and seen a lot a different approaches to youth work. I've grown up as an artist with the youth service, I've learnt a lot from youth workers and young people and I've seen first hand what youth work is all about. Youth Club isn't just about playing pool and table tennis, youth clubs provide a safe space for young people, a place where they can learn new skills and build confidence. Youth workers build trusted relationships and through their work deal with health and social issues that effect young people. Youth work is important.

In recent times of austerity, central government cut the amount of money for local councils. Coventry Councils answer to these cuts was called "Connecting Communities" where they proposed to end universal provision in 16 locations across the city. 

The councils proposals went out to public consultation. Young people wanted to respond and youth workers had their hands tied so I offered my support to the youth forum in their quest to save the service.

The youth forum included young people from different youth clubs working together collectively. Bailey set up a petition, Zara composed a letter to the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, and the youth forum organised a protest against the councils proposed cuts.

As part of the consultation the council had asked for organisations to express an interest in delivering youth services in the city. I was asked by the young people at Peoples Place in Stoke Aldermoor to try and save their centre, so whilst supporting the youth forum in trying to save the whole service, I began working on a viable solution to save the one centre, Peoples Place.
The council decided to go ahead with the proposed cuts and I submitted a business case to keep Peoples Place open. Sadly it wasn't what the council were after and it got turned down.

So its the end of summer 2017 and its also the end of 16 youth clubs and the universal youth service.

I cant help but feel sad at the dismantling of something that has helped and supported so many young people and has been such a crucial part of my development as an artist and person. A massive thank you to Nina, Dave, Tracey, Tammy, Sonia, Karen, all of the workers and young people that have played a part in making the youth service something special. 

We'll have to wait and see what effect these cuts will have and hope for the best.
At least no one can say we didn't put up a fight!


John Mckeown

Pea Pod

Taylor Johns House got in touch with Bring Colour and asked us to deliver a quick street art workshop at The Pod.

Taylor Johns and The Pea Pod Collective were hosting an arts festival at the pod, we went along and worked with two groups in quick-fire 15 min sessions.
Everyone got the chance to make their own individual pieces using a variety of mixed media that they could keep.

The workshops we offer are flexible, creative, imaginative and fun. 

If you have an enquiry or would like to book a workshop please get in touch.

Our Choice BBQ

The Groundwork gang have been running a youth project called 'Our Choice' for three years, working with young people aged 11-19 in the Tile Hill, Canley, Willenhall, Stoke Aldermoor, Hillfields & Foleshill areas of Coventry.

The 'Our Choice' project gave young people the change to get involved in their neighbourhood and get their voices heard on what they wanted to see happening in their neighbourhood.

Lou from Groundwork got in touch with Bring Colour, 'Our Choice' were having a summer BBQ for the young people at Coombe Abbey and wanted Bring Colour to come along and facilitate a workshop. The aim of the workshop was for the young people to create a piece of art, through which they could evaluate the 'our choice' project.

Back to School part 3

Bring Colour artist, John Mckeown was invited back for the third year in a row to deliver a Graffiti / Street art workshop at Cardinal Newman's Community Arts Festival.

The school wanted the young people to create some artwork with a science theme for them to display in the science block.

The weather on the day was awful but the young people battled against the elements & got creative!

Previous years workshops: 

Back to School part 1

Back to School part 2

Artwork Up.

When Bring Colour artist, John Mckeown was back at his old school, Cardinal Newman for their 2012 community arts festival, he managed to get a photo of the artwork that they created at last years workshop, mounted on the wall in the music block.

KASUM!

Last week we did some work for the guys at Positive Futures. We were called in to deliver one on one sessions with a young person who had chosen to complete a 10 hr project on the theme 'Graffiti Art'. He chose a name to develop 'KASUM' and set to work in his sketchbook.

Through his sketchbook he showed how the evolution from a simple tag style name up to a colourful 3d piece.

He used what he had learnt over the week to create a final piece in the last session.

It was the first time we had delivered one to one sessions in this kind of format and it went really well, the young person worked really well, created artwork that he was proud of and also got to take his sketchbook home to continue creating!


If you have an enquiry or would like to book a workshop please get in touch.

Back to School Part2

Bring Colour artist, John Mckeown was asked to return to his old school, Cardinal Newman for the second year to deliver a workshop as part of their community arts festival.

Last year he delivered at graffiti art workshop but this year did a street art workshop on the theme of music as the school wanted to display the work in the music block when finished.

We haven't yet managed to get photos of the work finished and mounted in the school, but here is a few of what we got up to.

Henley Green

Here's a couple of pics from Henley Green Community Centre, Coventry. We got invited up to facilitate a series of art sessions with the outcome being the young people producing artwork to decorate their newly acquired youth room.

The young people worked really well, were not the best at turning up on time & things went a little bit wrong at coffee time & when cupboards were unlocked, but they still managed to produce some decent artwork.

We did more of a street art based workshop and had the young people doing some photography, computer based work, Stencil Making and some actual decorating!

HYPC iNVOLVED!

Nina from Yardley st. sent a zip folder over of some logo designs that someone had bashed together and asked us to produce something that they could use, so we went to work.

We've also been up Hillfields the past week delivering graffiti workshops, an update will come shortly!

Back to School!

Bring Colour artist, John Mckeown was asked to return to his old school, Cardinal Newman to deliver a graffiti workshop as part of the schools first Community Arts Festival. The Festival was held to celebrate the school becoming a specialist arts and community college.

HYPC

Just a couple of images that we found on the net, top on an action shot from the BBC SWAT event that we ran a workshop at, and the bottom photo is what Yardley St. used to look like before the event, to see the final piece click here.