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This project has been engaging a group of teenagers living in the New Forest in the creation of visual art that inspires self-expression and builds confidence. Together, we have been exploring the unique landscape around us, reflecting on how young people connect with and experience their environment. Memorable places around the forest have emerged as a key theme among the young people, shaping the direction of their creative responses. Through this ongoing creative journey, I have been supporting participants in finding their own voices and expressing their thoughts and perspectives in innovative ways, while encouraging a deeper understanding of what it means to live in the New Forest as a young person, as well as of their own creative potential.
Through a series of visual art workshops, I have been working with young people to explore their environment and share their personal experiences through the creation of a community artwork, while also responding to the ideas and themes that continue to emerge through the workshops. As part of the project, one young person is being offered the opportunity to intern with us in Venice, gaining valuable international experience and expanding their understanding of creative practice within a wider artistic context.
vanessacollingridge.com
2025-01-26T
The first workshop took place at spudWORKS, New Forest and brought together a small group of young people to reflect on what it is like to grow up as a teenager in a forested landscape. Through open discussion, participants shared their everyday experiences of the forest — from places of freedom and escape to spaces that feel isolating, overlooked, or deeply personal. Conversations moved between stories of hanging out with friends, finding quiet spots to think, navigating boundaries set by adults, and the unique sense of belonging that comes from living so closely with nature.
Using these discussions as a starting point, the group began creating visual work inspired by waymarkers and memorable places within the forest. Participants identified paths they regularly travel, locations tied to strong memories, and unofficial landmarks that hold meaning for them but may not appear on maps. These places were translated into drawings, symbols, and treating waymarkers not only as navigational tools but as carriers of personal narrative.
The workshop established a collaborative atmosphere where individual experiences were valued and shared, laying the groundwork for a collective artwork rooted in the lived realities of young people in the New Forest. It marked the beginning of a process that centres their voices, allowing the forest to be seen not just as a landscape, but as a space shaped by memory, identity, and teenage life.
Using these discussions as a starting point, the group began creating visual work inspired by waymarkers and memorable places within the forest. Participants identified paths they regularly travel, locations tied to strong memories, and unofficial landmarks that hold meaning for them but may not appear on maps. These places were translated into drawings, symbols, and treating waymarkers not only as navigational tools but as carriers of personal narrative.
The workshop established a collaborative atmosphere where individual experiences were valued and shared, laying the groundwork for a collective artwork rooted in the lived realities of young people in the New Forest. It marked the beginning of a process that centres their voices, allowing the forest to be seen not just as a landscape, but as a space shaped by memory, identity, and teenage life.