Creative Entitlement and Wellbeing

AccessArt have worked collaboratively with teenagers for twenty years on projects, in schools and workshop sessions.

AccessArt believes that bridges should be built between creative adults and creative teenagers to facilitate opportunities for teenagers to understand the scope of their creative potential.

Arts and Minds - Cambourne VC - Week Two - SC

Underlying all our work, is the belief that everyone is entitled to expressing themselves creatively and a recognition that creativity is a part of each and everyone of us, which needs to be nurtured, recognised, protected and developed.

During the teenage years, young people can easily have their confidence knocked if they feel their creative endeavours judged or misunderstood, causing a sense of not feeling able to participate in the production or creation of art. This often results in the unfortunate result of not being able to take making, drawing and creative processes into adulthood.

AccessArt creates positive creative opportunities for teenagers without curriculum pressures or worries about evaluation. Art, is recognised, not as a subject, but as a bespoke and personal language used to transform, understand, express and construct the world. 

Windy Day Drawing: What was it really all about?

Here, Sheila Ceccarelli reflects on assessment and measuring in Art, and the impact that it can have on young people’s creative development. Sheila outlines the responsibility of facilitators working with teenagers and young people, to give students the confidence to trust that being open to new experiences is the catalyst to creative purpose, and maintaining the impetus to follow an enthusiasm or whim should be nurtured, not measured. Read More

Drawing as a Tool for Wellbeing at Chesterton Community College, Cambridge

This post describes how three Art teachers led ‘drawing for mindfulness’ workshops designed in collaboration with Sheila Ceccarelli​ from AccessArt​ for all the students at Chesterton Community College as part of a whole school ‘Wellbeing Day”. Read More

“Heart-Work” Art and Wellbeing for Young People with AccessArt and Arts and Minds

This series of ‘Arts on Prescription’ style workshops, with students at Cambourne Village College, was part of the ‘Young People’s Pilot’, coordinated and managed Arts and Minds. The sessions were led by Sheila Ceccarelli from AccessArt (Artist) and Yael Pilowsky Bankirer (Psychotherapist). “Arts and Minds wanted to see what could be done as an ‘early help’ provision for young people within schools.” Gavin Clayton, Arts and Minds. Read More

Arts and Minds: Feeling Through Drawing

A session in the “Heart-Work” series, where students were led on a guided drawing experience; ‘drawing through touch’. The session was led by Sheila Ceccarelli (Artist) and Yael Pilowsky Bankirer (Psychotherapist) and was commissioned and managed by Arts and Minds. Read More

Arts and Minds: Drawing for Mindfulness

A session in the “Heart-Work” series, where students were guided on drawing exercises designed to explore drawing as a tool for seeing and being in the ‘here and now’. The session was led by Sheila Ceccarelli (Artist) and Yael Pilowsky Bankirer (Psychotherapist) and was commissioned and managed by Arts and Minds. Read More

Be Inspired to Inspire!

Sheila Ceccarelli from AccessArt describes how a walk in the bluebell forest inspired her teaching… Read More

Drawing Game – A Visual Conversation

Paula Briggs and Sheila Ceccarelli lead this simple drawing game to break down pre-conceived ideas about ‘what is drawing?’ or ‘why draw?’. A visual conversation can be developed to tune a group into creative, group thinking as well as a mark making exercise. Read More

5 Exercises by Henry Ward

Artist and educator Henry Ward presents 5 activities which he has used successfully to inspire creativity with pupils. Read More

Hedgerow Art by Sara Dudman

Artist Educator Sara Dudman shares a beautifully illustrated resource in which she enables teenagers to work together to create hedgerow-inspired drawings and paintings. Read More

Detached and Timeless Painting Workshop by Sara Dudman

Artist and educator Sara Dudman shares examples, inspiration and support for working creatively from video to capture movement and a sense of place in painting. Read More

In-Depth Drawing Experience for Teenagers by Betsy Dadd

Artist and educator Betsy Dadd shares how she inspired teenagers to enjoy an in-depth exploration of drawings resulting in working on a large scale and finally animating their work. Read More

Asemic Writing: Expressive Mark Making through Invented Text

Inspired by artist Sue Gough, teenagers create invented narratives formed ‘asemic writing’; an expressive form of writing that can only be interpreted by the viewer with the tools of instinct, empathy, intuition and emotion. Read More

Graffiti Floor – Teenagers Have a Silent Conversation with Pen and Mark

Written by Sheila Ceccarelli, during the highly politically charged time of the EU referendum, teenagers were able to explore their feelings silently, in a collective, visual conversation on the floor. Students were encouraged to say what they needed to say, in marks, rhythms and drawing, to be mindful of each other, but make the marks they felt they needed to express. To respond to each other – to ‘listen’ as well as ‘talk’. Read More

Drawing Portraits: Celebrating Class Success!

Teenage students celebrate each other’s successes through drawing, in this energetic session led by Sheila Ceccarelli Read More

All AccessArt posts for Arts and Wellbeing

See all AccessArt posts tagged Arts and Wellbeing. Read More

UK Charity AccessArt welcomes artists, educators, teachers and parents both in the UK and overseas.

We believe everyone has the right to be creative and by working together and sharing ideas we can enable everyone to reach their creative potential.

Join AccessArt from only £3.50 per month and enjoy full access to hundreds more resources!

Join Us!

UK Charity AccessArt welcomes artists, educators, teachers and parents both in the UK and overseas.

We believe everyone has the right to be creative and by working together and sharing ideas we can enable everyone to reach their creative potential.

Join AccessArt from only £3.50 per month and enjoy full access to hundreds more resources!

Join Us!
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