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Young Cultural Changemakers Isle of Wight

Paint Pour artwork at the Riverside Centre, Newport

Children supported by the Youth Justice Service (YJS) worked with artist Nathan Holt to produce a large ​‘paint pour’ artwork with a strong crime prevention message, to positively impact the community.

  • Young people pouring colourful paint onto surface to create artwork
  • close up of paint pour artwork with a snail, stick man, 'A' and two hearts drawn on as signatures in white pen
  • Young people wiping the surface of a colourful artwork of poured paint

Children supported by the Youth Justice Service (YJS) collaborated with artist Nathan Holt as part of a restorative justice project aimed at positively impacting their community by conveying an anti-crime message to both children and the wider public.

They produced a large 8ft by 4ft painting for the project using a ​‘paint pour’ technique proposed by the children, which symbolically relates to the activities that brought them to the attention of the authorities. The artwork, which is on permanent display at the Riverside Centre in Newport, conveys the message that destructive actions can be redirected towards creativity.

One of the aims of the project was to increase the children’s self-esteem, as there is a significant correlation between low self-esteem and the likelihood of committing a criminal offence. The fact that the piece remains in the community after the project has ended means the participants have a reason to continue to be proud, hopefully having a positive impact on their self-esteem.

This was one of several Young Cultural Changemakers projects funded by the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Thanks to our partners: Isle of Wight Youth Justice Service, Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Riverside Centre

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