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Young girl wearing red hoodie smiling whilst speaking into a microphone

Arun

Our work in Arun, empowering young people to lead and make change in their communities through creativity.

In numbers

So far, since 2023 in Arun…

  • 3825

    young people have made active change in their communties

  • 59,809

    community members have been positively impacted by our youth-led changemaking work 

  • 2059

    qualifications have been issued to young people

  • 83%

    of young people on the programme felt heard’ 

Explore the creative projects

The projects that have taken place so far have been in direct response to recurring issues and concerns that young people in Arun feel are important to address. These themes are: The Environment, Mental Wellbeing, Community Cohesion, Crime Reduction, 

The Environment

700 young people across 3 different schools – Rustington Community Primary, Summerlea School and River Beach Primary worked on this project that focussed on our kelp forests on the Sussex coast. 

I would like to tell the people in charge of my community how important it is to save our ocean and not disturb any sea life and let everything live naturally in the ocean. And also try to inspire them to do any tiny little jobs - if loads of people do loads of little things it can change the world massively.

They designed an inclusive and accessible Youth Community Garden in Bognor Regis

This project was in response to feedback from their community about a need for projects that can support local young people’s wellbeing. The Changemakers wanted to combat local issues, with a particular focus on combatting feelings of isolation, excessive screen use, and stereotyping of young people in public spaces

I love it so much and I'm excited to see it grow and help younger people feel better about themselves.

Community Cohesion

A range of projects have been completed, including artworks for a specialist school, an art trail, colouring up an estate, a gallery in an underpass and a wayfinding project for Littlehampton. 

They organised a celebration event for the opening of the new K2 Community Centre in Littlehampton

The young people programmed a diverse range of creative activities that young people of all ages could enjoy in their new community space.

  • A group of young people, an artist and local town councillors stood in front of a new community centre they helped open together
  • An adult holding a young persons arms to balance them on a skateboard whilst they learn how to skate
  • A facilitator teaching a small group of young people and adults some street dance moves

Mental Wellbeing

Young people have worked on projects that improve people’s mental wellbeing, such as creating a mural for outside Littlehampton station, curating an exhibition and creating art to brighten up Wick estate. 

Now You See Me

Young people presented a thought-provoking art exhibition and unveiled a mural at Littlehampton railway station.

The artworks in the exhibition named Now You See Me’ explored feelings about their town, themselves and their experiences with youth violence. Additionally, the vibrant mural outside the station aims to improve and brighten perceptions about the town.

  • A large spraypainted, colourful street art mural outside of Littlehampton train station that says "Littlehampton" in a street art font
  • Two framed A2 digital artworks exhibited in Littlehampton station, one of the artworks has text on it that says "Life is more about choice than chance"
  • Young person smiling whilst cutting the ribbon for a large mural launch at Littlehampton train station

I’ve been working in Arun since 2019 with stakeholders from schools to businesses, artists, health workers, councillors and teachers. There’s a wealth of creativity to be explored locally, and lots of inspiration from the beautiful coastal and river scenery, to the sweep of the South Downs.

Artswork staff talking to a member of the public at an exhibition and mural launch event

Want to get involved in  Arun ?

If you’re an artist or organisation and would like to get involved, get in touch below.

Keep up to date with our upcoming events and projects by following us on Instagram. 

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