Speak Up

Come and join us for a series of sessions with professional local male artists exploring what it means to be a young man today, and how this affects us and our mental health. Talk and be listened to, build some new connections, and make a brand new VR experience.

Who is it for?

The Speak Up! sessions are for young Black and South Asian males aged 14-21 and up to 25 years old for young men with SEND, who are having a bit of a difficult time with mental health. Especially after COVID, we’re all feeling it, and we’re here for you.

What will it be?

We will use music, dance, drama and spoken word to explore what mental health means to you as we make a brand new VR world!

Why are we looking at mental health?

Everyone has mental & physical health, sometimes we’ve broken our arm, sometimes we’re feeling a bit blue. Working with artists with lived experiences of mental health challenges, the Speak Up! programme will give you tools to support you with your wellbeing.

Upcoming

Spring Schools Workshops

Following our 6 week workshop series in the Autumn, we want to give our young people a voice and confidence to share their work. Across 4 schools in Barking & Dagenham we will bring exclusive peer-led workshops.

Students will share their experiences in assemblies for the whole year, looking at highlights and challenges they faced. The peer-led workshops participants will guide other students in VR experiences, where they will also guide conversations on mental health and support, and resilience.

If you or your school are interested to find out more through our Education Pack get in touch with cora@greenshoesarts.com.

Previous

2020-2021

During the peak of the pandemic, we hosted weekly online workshops for young Black males to explore what mental health meant to them. Providing a space for real talk, unpacking some big ideas in creative ways, and allowing our participants to be seen and heard at an isolating time.

A TASTE of Summer 2021

During the Summer of 2021 we presented 8 Taster workshops, giving an insight to the Speak Up programme, where we asked what participants wanted to explore.

We held these with Future Youth Zone and our partner schools: Riverside, Mayesbrook, Barking & Dagenham College.

October 2021 Weeklong Intensive

This series of weeklong workshops our participants got creative with virtual reality spaces – And yes, there was BeatSaber!

Working with the award-winning Megaverse, we unpicked what it means to you to be a young man in Barking & Dagenham.

When: 25th – 29th October, 10am-4pm
Where: Chadwell Heath Community Centre
How much: FREE (and £50 gift voucher for taking part in full week)

LIMITED SPACE for only 8 participants!

Autumn Schools Workshops

We worked with Riverside and Sydney Russell schools in Barking & Dagenham to bring exclusive workshops for 36 young people. Across 6 weekly in person workshops, participants had the chance to have their say and see what it takes to make work together, what inspires their aspirations and what issues affect them in their communities.

February Weeklong Intensive

This series of weeklong workshops our participants got creative with virtual reality spaces – And yes, there was BeatSaber!

Working with the award-winning Megaverse, we unpicked what it means to you to be a young man in Barking & Dagenham. In collaboration with BECONTREE FOREVER we focussed on the heritage, architecture and emotional response to the Becontree Estate and surrounding area.

When: 14th-18th February 10am-4pm
Where: Chadwell Heath Community Centre
How much: FREE (and £50 gift voucher for taking part in full week and £5 daily food allowance)

LIMITED SPACE for only 16 participants!

Supported by

Speak Up! is supported with funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, distributed by City Bridge Trust through the London Community Response Fund, public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England and London Borough of Barking & Dagenham’s Becontree 100.

Thanks to National Lottery players for making this possible.