Art project with young people in Calverton

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Shadow silhouette of hands — Experimenting with shadow and silhouettes

Lines drawn with light on long exposure photograph — Making images using long exposure photography and torches

Door outlined with light on long exposure photograph — Making images using long exposure photography and torches

Silhouette of child being painted on wall — Young people paint silhouettes projected onto the walls of their youth centre

Silhouette of child painted on wall — Young people paint silhouettes projected onto the walls of their youth centre

The images in gallery are from an Express Yourself project with young people in Calverton. The project was delivered by Jo Wheeler and funded through Gedling Borough Council’s Crime & Neighbourhoods Fund.

In 2013, between January and April, City Arts visited Calverton Youth Centre on Tuesday evenings to work with young people on a portraiture project.

Working with new members aged 10 -13 over 10 session, the project’s aim was to support the young people in gaining a sense of ownership over the newly decorated youth centre; for them to, literally, make their mark on the space.

A team of young people got involved in making collaborative images using long exposure photography and torches to trace the external features of the building.

After the half term break the young people came back to shoot full-length portraits on a digital SLR camera, thinking about body posture and shape. Using Photoshop, these were turned into silhouettes for projection onto the walls. The following weeks were spent tracing the images onto the walls, selecting a colour palette and painting them. They have become a permanent feature of the youth centre.