Northumberland College and Sunderland College students recently showcased their creative talents at an exhibition aimed at creating connectedness for local young people.
The students, from the college’s Directions and Foundations SEND provision saw their work featured at the National Glass Centre as part of the ‘Autonomy Celebration’ event ‘The Skin We Live In’ alongside young people from Grace House.
The colleges worked in partnership with both the National Glass Centre and Sunderland Culture to host the event, which has provided opportunities for young people and adults with autism opportunities to show off their work including portraits, glass, prints, photography, animation, and audio described arts award work.
Sunderland College student David Bailey – a leading example of how students with SEND can get involved in their local community – opened the event with a speech outlining what the event involved, how it was arranged to reduce social isolation and create connectedness for young people in Sunderland.
Michelle Patterson, Lecturer and Programme Leader for Directions at Sunderland College said: “This event was to help get our autistic young people into the community.
“We’ve been working with Sunderland Culture to pull this together, and it’s really important for our students who struggle in social situations to be involved in projects like this because it helps to get them involved with each other and the community, while making an impact and a difference to them.”
The work included portraits of students doing something they love and showcasing their favourite things in a creative way. The event, which included a live performance from the musicians Aukestra, was an opportunity for guests to socialise with new friends they have made during the project, participate in some creative activities.
Vicki Kennedy, Learning and Engagement Manager at Sunderland Culture added: “The partnership with Sunderland College has been pivotal to the success of this project.
“They want their students to really thrive both inside and outside of college, so we’ve developed this new partnership that will last hopefully well beyond the life of this project.”
Lee Lister, Kirkley Hall Campus Principal also said: “This event is really important in terms of parental engagement and for students to develop skills.
“When you look at those challenges young people with SEND face, especially those with autism, everyday chores of life that we find easy, they often struggle with.
“So engaging them in culture and the community is essential.”
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