Photography Feelings: Nature – Exhibition at Karamel until September

When Haringey Learning Partnership were looking for a gallery to mount their exhibition Photography Feelings: Nature, they naturally came to Collage Arts. This term a group of students and staff at Haringey Learning Partnership have been exploring the role nature plays in supporting emotional wellbeing.

Deep:Black facilitated the project providing coaching in photography and image creation. More importantly the images became the foundation for group conversations about feelings as well as introducing discussion around themes and issues important to students.

The exhibition opened on Thursday 22 July 2021. On the same day two cohorts of music technology students graduated from a term long programme at Collage Arts.

Steve Medlin, artistic director of Collage Voices, the young people’s  programme at Collage Arts explains: “10 young people from Haringey Learning Partnership have been working with us for a term to develop music. They have all made great progress and some are already producing outstanding work. The music worked in much the same way as the photography project using the creative work to open up conversations about feeling, issues, and aspirations. This is one of the unique aspects of how the arts work. It is why we are called Collage Voices, because it is essential that we help young people work out what they want to say, and then give them a platform to share their work.” 

As part of the graduation young people were awarded certificates of achievement and studio passes to come back and produce their own work, outside of the school environment and in a professional recording studio.

Last week, Collage Voices produced an album of work by young people in Haringey as part of the Voices Against Hate project, supported by the London Music Fund’s Amplify programme. This was a cross-borough initiative to encourage young people to tackle hate speech.

“It was a great day in the partnership between Haringey Learning Partnership and Collage Voices and we look forward to seeing what our  young people will create with Collage Voices next year.”

Photography Feelings: Nature will be on exhibition in the gallery at Karamel until September 2021.

Collage Voices works in partnership with eight secondary schools and two primary schools in the borough. We also offer a Saturday programme where young people explore drama, music, creative writing, and music technology. Sessions cost just £2 a week. Collage Arts raises around £1,000 a day to support its community programme.