26B Rathbone Market was a shop unit earmarked for demolition to make way for a new housing development During an interim period designated by contractors John SISK & Son, the unit was transformed into a temporary creative community hub which became known as Rosetta Rathbone Art Studios or RRAS. Consisting of an old public facing shop space, a kitchen area, two toilets, and back room storage spaces, it was a hive of lively activities with a range of programmes and initiatives from artists-in-residence, workshops, a gallery for exhibitions and venue for hosting special events for artists, families and school visits. This artistic intervention spanned almost two years providing rich cultural experiences and opportunities for thousands of local people, schools and groups of all ages.
The Young Newham Artists (YNA) programme was initiated by us to accommodate a specific gap in the provision of visual arts activities for young people aged 16-19 years, with a focus on those young people not in education, employment or training. The YNA project was developed to provide opportunities for local young people to be visually creative and develop their talents towards accessing higher education and/or employment in the creative industries.
Phase One
In its first phase, during January – June 2011, the YNA programme ran as a 20-week provision when fifteen young people participated in evening activities twice a week. These sessions were run in the workshop space at Rathbone Rosetta Art Studios led by artist Rebecca Hope. Working with the theme of identity, the young people created painting and drawings to reflect their explorations.
The programme helped the YNA cohort attain two Level 3 accredited qualifications administered by the awarding body ABC; Freelancing and Self-Employment in the Creative Industries and Visual Thinking. As part of the programme, they participated in the Commissioning-Project which was a unique opportunity to partner with a local business/ organisation who then acted as a client for the young person, setting them a creative brief to fulfil. The participating business and organisations received a free commissioned artwork with the agreement it was exhibited in their public premises.
This became a well-received initiative to bring local art into the local community whilst empowering talented young people.
Phase Two
Following the first phase, the project was extended and developed with the Adobe Youth Voices project, an international scheme funded by software company Adobe. The second phase involved working with filmmaking specialist artist Fraser Watson, with a new group of eight young people collaborating on the production of a short video which was subsequently showcased at the British Film Institute as part of the final Adobe Youth Voices exhibition.
