Case Study – Creative Pathways with Young Hackney

The Story

“We’re doing music today? I can’t believe it!”, exclaimed a young man named Ryan as he joined me for the first session of the project. 

The aim of this project was to explore today’s workforce in the UK, discuss social value, and use music to strengthen skills important for employability, such as creativity, teamwork, emotional intelligence, communication. 

“I know everything about music, don’t get me started!”, said Ryan as I was setting up for the session and showing him the instruments I had brought with me. Throughout the project, Ryan continued to bring curiosity and excitement to every activity, but what struck me the most was the sense of pride that he demonstrated when reflecting back on the two tangible projects we created: a soundtrack for a film to explore emotional intelligence through music, and a community project to explore social value. 

“I made the movie my own. [Was it difficult to translate emotions into music?] No, it was easy peasy.”

Projects like this are an incredible way to engage with young adults with additional needs: the topics explored are important and relevant to their lives, but they are approached in creative ways and can be easily adapted to the participants’ interests. It is an amazing way to discuss issues of community, and how to work together to make it better, in a creative and accessible way.