“Inclusive, empowering and celebratory of DIFFERENCE”
You might have been to God’s House Tower (Southampton’s multi-use arts and heritage space) before, but you won’t have seen an exhibition quite like this. Seeing Things Differently, a showcase of work created by young people as a result of their taking part in In Focus’ DSLR (Develop Skills, Learn and Reflect) programme, ran from 30th May to 16th June 2024. Spanning the whole of the main gallery space upstairs and with a complementary short film in the screening room one level down, the exhibition was the culmination of seven months of creative learning and engagement with groups of young people from Hampshire.
In the weeks leading up to the exhibition, In Focus’ social channels shared posts and stories to entice visitors to attend. During this time, online engagement showed promising outreach, with reach across TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram ranging from 1.3k (TikTok) to 2.7k (Instagram), and content interactions totally 1044 overall. This translated well in terms of visitors to the physical space; across the exhibition run, a total of 1004 visitors came to see the work—an impressive statistic for an exhibition of ‘unknown’ young artists.
The In Focus team work to engage a broad scope of people through creative learning practices, using photography and other artistic mediums as a way to educate and explore different subjects and contexts. In the case of the DSLR programme, those taking part were aged 16-25, and as part of their engagement, they worked towards Arts Award certification, as well as Digital Badges that can be used to showcase their abilities and efforts. These can be shared online and even attached as part of a CV when looking for work in the future.
Through weekly sessions which took place both at Skills2Achieve locations (in Enham and Eastleigh) and at In Focus’ central Southampton space, the groups learnt a curriculum of different camera techniques, building a strong knowledge base of manual photography skills, as well as learning and exploring expression through other formats (including poetry and creative writing and image building with different collage approaches.
Set within the framework of Arts Award Explore and Bronze levels, the work completed in these sessions by those enrolled in the Skills2Achieve scheme also complemented other learning of core subjects and key skills, such as English and Maths.
For those attending evening groups at In Focus in Southampton—many of whom had been recommended to them by local LGBTQIA+ organisation, Breakout Youth, the sessions presented not only the opportunity to learn new skills, but they acted as a form of respite, a change of scene and an outlet for self-expression and exploration. For some participants, the space offered them more time and freedom to be themselves than anything else they’d been able to access before.
All of this is what made Seeing Things Differently such a strong exhibition, the clear identity-affirming nature of the pieces created by the young people was evident—both in the photographic and collage work displayed in the main gallery space, and in the short film that featured the voices of the young people themselves, as they described how they had found the whole experience. Soundbites used in the film communicated this well:
The video below was featured in the ‘Seeing Things Differently’ exhibition. It features extra work created by the DSLR groups. You can also hear participants talking about their experience with In Focus. The poem at the end of the video was made collaboratively by the LGBTQIA+ DSLR group, in response to the prompt “Different Is”…
During the opening night, one exhibition attendee said:
To open the exhibition, a young person from the Southampton evening group stood in front of a filled-out room and recited a poem, entitled Different Is… The piece was a vivid jumble of ideas, rich with different interpretations of what people consider ‘different’ to be, to sound like, to present like. It was learning that the group had written it collaboratively that gave it such impact too—ideas that may not have been so readily expressed aloud were captured in these written words, showing how deeply considered and engaged the young people behind the work had been. Acting as a compilation of sorts, the words were read passionately by the young person who had offered to share them with the exhibition attendees. The poem considered both the more obvious, stereotyped notions of what different might mean to people, as well as providing other insight into the power of the singular mind. The result: a dozen personal interpretations, pulled together to form one, bold piece of poetry. You can watch a recording of this poem below.
It is clear that this simple act of allowing young people the space and time to explore and find new ways to express themselves, especially those who may have struggled through mainstream education for a whole range of reasons, has been hugely beneficial.
The young participants involved appeared visibly proud of their efforts—keen to pose next to their favourite pieces of work for photographs with their family and friends, some happy to talk to passersby about why they had focused on what they had for their photography, others taking a quieter approach, enjoying observing people’s reactions as they walked around the gallery space.
Seeing Things Differently was a lively and impassioned exploration of what it means to be a young person, exploring things for the first time, or returning to ideas and themes they felt a connection to. For these young artists, being able to present and exhibit their work for the first time was a powerful way of affirming months of hard work, showing them that people do care about what they have to say. It was encouraging to see how these weekly workshops had been able to engage with the participants in new and creative ways, showing them that sometimes, the best ideas are the ones that happen outside of the box, free of the usual boundaries or expectations of others.
One of the young people described their experience of the sessions as being like therapy—a place to get things off their chest and then focus their pent up energy on something productive and creative. They were allowed a space to release themselves, and the effect of that is something that will last far beyond the span of the exhibition itself.
A feedback station that stood between the screening room and the exhibition upstairs provided a place for visitors to write their responses to the work they’d seen. Messages varied but there was a common thread—all felt moved and inspired by what they had seen and heard:
“This was amazing. The talent shown is incredible. You have all done an amazing job. The exhibit was so beautiful and calming. Well done.”
“The art found in the everyday by these artists is fantastic. Incredible perception and wonderful output. Awesome stuff.”
“Beautiful, creative and stunning artwork. Incredible amount of creativity from such a diverse group. Thought-provoking and innovative.”
“Extremely inspiring and exciting photography. Wonderful to see such creativity and collaboration. What an incredible opportunity to explore and express.”
“Thank you for being bold and brave enough to share it and gift it. My eyes are lucky. Keep doing it! Hope I see more of you here.”
“Loved the poem; it’s great to be different!”
“This is such an inspiring and thought-provoking experience. The work of the young people is amazing—I’ve been blown away. Thank you.”
“Amazing film and gorgeous art. Incredible that there is so much beauty all around us, hidden in plain sight. Great to hear young people in their own words.”
“I’m so overwhelmed with positivity seeing passion and creativity being fostered and encouraged. Amazing work!”
“I resonated with the poems from different people learning about their experiences.”
“Everyone involved should be proud! Each piece of work showed the individual’s creativity and willingness to try something new.”
Seeing Things Differently was a group exhibition created and curated by young people from the DSLR 16-25 (Develop Skills, Learn and Reflect) programme. Weekly workshops were devised and run by In Focus for young people aged 16-25 between September 2023 and April 2024. The free to attend workshops were open to any young people and acted as a space to learn new skills through exploring creativity, gaining knowledge and connecting with others through arts-based activities. Those taking part explored and gained new skills through a range of mediums, including photography, creative writing, collage, painting, montage, animations, poetry and more. These sessions were made possible thanks to support from Arts Council England.
