As communities transition from response to recovery of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new normal should include better recognition and investment towards arts as a youth intervention. Adopting a creative approach to address life’s challenges has been a growing area of interest and there are now many examples and evidence of the beneficial impact arts engagement can have.
Our initiatives at Community Links have clearly demonstrated the power that arts interventions can have on young people through sustained creative programmes. However, there is still a disconnect between policies and people with central government failure to address the decline in arts engagement for young people. This report identifies the relationship between arts and young people that needs to be amplified, and the ways in which local and national policies could effectively support this union.
If we are ever to achieve our national goal to ‘Build Back Better’, we need to address the structural challenges within the arts sector and look to young people to support the development of arts interventions. This paper coincides with the launch of our new recording studio, generously funded by the Rolling Stones and others, which will support young people to harness and channel their creativity through music.
Chi Kavindele, Director
