The Boxed Project

Mission Project: The Boxed Project
Aim: To use art as a tool to help young people communicate and examine the issues of danger and the effect on themselves and others
Funding: About £20,000 from various sources including Positive Futures

Young people who are at risk of offending or exclusion in Durham have been involved in an art project designed to make them think about their own safety. More than 100 young people aged between 11 and 16 worked with professional artists to create eight box rooms themed around safety issues.

The themes include domestic violence, where audio speakers were placed in a darkened and imposing environment and everyday noises in the home were played to represent the tension and the nature of home life.

Another room tackles the theme of alcohol misuse. Here drinks and bottles come alive through a computer animation and taunt the participant that one drink leads to another.

The boxes were displayed for one week at the end of October, and young members of the community were invited to come along to try them out.

Only one person was allowed to enter the space at any one time for the three-minute experience. All the young people later attended a workshop where youth workers and the young artists explored what the experience meant to them.

Shelagh Pearce, project manager at Positive Futures Durham, said she was impressed with the work the young people carried out. "Some young people were saying that art wasn't for them but they found it really engaging and enjoyed working on the project," she said. "It was excellent and we're hoping to run it again next year."