Earlier this year we hosted the St Christopher’s UK Art Exhibition ‘Defining Identities’ at the AMP Gallery in Peckham. The exhibition displayed a range of works by young people from the UK and the Isle of Man. Young people also catered and photographed the event.

It was wonderful to see such a great turn-out from St Christopher’s young people, staff members and supporters and I felt that the event was a reminder of the collaborative spirit and positive energy of the organisation. I want to thank everyone who made this possible, those who helped to organise it, as well as those who attended on the day.

I was personally struck by the quality of the pieces, but also by their variety: we had melancholic landscapes; portraits that were joyous and soulful; artworks that were surreal and humorous and others that were brutally honest and powerfully symbolic – exploring inner worlds and personal journeys. I felt that the variety represented the breadth of personalities, backgrounds, experiences and life journeys, not just amongst the artists in the exhibition, but among all the young people we work with at St Christopher’s homes and services.

Events and opportunities of this nature show the importance of hearing and learning from the voices of the children and young people we work with. Because no two voices are the same, we can never just assume how young people will experience life at St Christopher’s and so can’t make decisions about how to improve what we offer them without their significant input. It also highlights how much young people are able to contribute when given the chance. It is so important that we continue to provide the right support and the right platforms to allow for this.

Another thing to note is how much the young people who attended the exhibition enjoyed the event. Some were apprehensive beforehand, but it was wonderful to see how impactful it was for the artists to see so many people viewing, discussing and complementing their works. There were some great stories to come out of the event. One of the artists from the Isle of Man had stopped painting, but involvement in the exhibition has inspired them to return to it again. Another young person had never painted before but chose to create their artwork that was displayed in the exhibition – and now they are working on a new piece. A friend and housemate of this young person, who also attended the exhibition as a guest, was so inspired by the event that they have chosen to take up photography to have a creative outlet of their own.

All of this shows us that we can have a positive impact on the lifelong learning and thriving of young people by encouraging existing interests, cultivating a confidence to try new things, and allowing them to step out of their comfort zones in the right way and at the right time. The exhibition was ultimately about the skill and ingenuity of the young people we are working with and I remain committed to finding future ways to share and celebrate this.

As you can imagine, due to the success of the UK based event, St Christopher’s young people and those that support them felt we should also hold an in situ exhibition on the Isle of Man in order to enable more of our young people to be seen through their artistic endeavours.

The activity was spearheaded by Voices in Participation collaborating with ourselves and Manx Care. Voices in participation is the children in care council on the Isle of Man and is open to children in care and care leavers aged 7 – 25.

All parties agreed that the event would be open to all care experienced children and young people on island. Voices in Participation proposed the exhibition theme of ‘Expressions’ – providing a supportive space where young people could express themselves through art and crucially a safe platform to be seen.

A number of art sessions were then held at the aftercare services for young people to come together and enjoy themselves, whilst creating pieces of art that had meaning for them. Other young people were provided with art equipment and created pieces for the exhibition in their own time.

‘Expressions’ was held in August this year at the iMuseum in Douglas in the evening and had a noteworthy invite list of people suggested by the young people exhibiting their pieces. The Mayor of Douglas, MLC’s, MHK’s, and senior staff from Manx Care, St Christopher’s, The Police, Health and Education along with staff who work alongside the young people all attended. There was a range of classic artwork on display for the guests to view and a young person also performed songs they had written about their experiences of being in foster care.

The event was only possible due to the hard work that the young people put in and the support of St Christopher’s and Manx Care staff and was a fantastic experience for all those that attended.

As a child-centric organisation, in both our key territories we immensely value any opportunity to provide an outlet for those in our care to feel heard, to feel seen and ultimately engage with their community in ways they are comfortable doing so. It has been a privilege to see the talent and raw honest feelings committed to canvas and other mediums to date, and we are hopeful to revisit the chance to continue curating works by our care experienced young people helping them and their skills to shine.