Lost Voices
By Poppy Wilgress Lost Voices Intern
Since 2021, Mess Up The Mess has been working with Llamau and City and County of Swansea Children’s Services on the ‘Lost Voices’ project. The aim of the project has been to offer a creative voice to those not traditionally been heard. This includes young people who have experienced homelessness, at risk of homelessness, been through the foster care system or/and have experienced mental health issues.
During this project we have had bi-weekly sessions in Swansea and Cardiff, offering a variety of creative workshops to young people, to help them spark inspiration and develop ideas for their own live public art event taking place in July 2023.
Through these workshops, the participants have worked with various artists such as Ndidi John, the co-lead facilitator and writer for this project, who has worked extensively with the group sharing her skills in spoken word, character development and script writing. MUTM Artistic Director Sarah Jones is co-facilitating the project alongside Ndidi and has been sharing drama and devising techniques with the group. While others like Ami Marsden specialise in sculpture and 3D art and are leading on design. With their support, the participants have been able to explore a variety of complex and hard-hitting topics such as; Mental Health, Religion, Authority, Healthcare, Discrimination and the reality of homelessness. Offering a safe creative space for these young people to express themselves and learn new skills along the way has been invaluable experience for all involved and the process of creating their live event will be just as important as the outcome.
The current concept moving forward, that the participants and artists have developed during these an immersive performance and installation exploring the links between homelessness and mental health. The ‘Not So Fun House’ includes spaces representing a Doctor’s Surgery, Place of Worship, ‘Big Wigs’, ‘Hell/Haven’ and ‘What makes a house a home’. Each room will have a variety of different art forms in place whether that is performance, sculpture, fine art, film, music, poetry and so much more. But most importantly, each room will be an ‘experience’ for audience members to partake in. Guests will be encouraged to be active participants, as they are given props, are spoken to by performers and will even play games in some of the spaces. This will be a very engaging and interesting experience for performers, artists and guests alike designed to challenge an audience of decision makers and the general public to make changes to the way young people transitioning into adulthood are supported or not supported by society.
The partnership are looking forward to what the young people and artists are developing and will continue to support and guide them along the way.