Written by Heritage Doncaster
Where we are… is a UK-wide national programme for young people aged 16-24 that co-designs and co-delivers meaningful local projects in arts and culture.
Run by the British Museum and supported by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, the programme aims to engage young people who are under-served in the museum sector.
Where we are… is delivered each year through a collaborative partnership between the British Museum, a local museum (or cultural organisation), a third sector organisation (charity, community group, social enterprise etc.) and young people, for about eight months. Together the partners and young people shape the development and delivery of the projects which are unique to their locality, responding to a community need identified by the young people.
2024-2025 Heritage Doncaster and Right Up Our Street were the key partners in the fourth year of this programme. The project involved putting the young people at the heart of all the decisions so the end point was not known at the beginning of the project. Outputs included engaging young people in museums and galleries through creative activities to develop creative skills. These in turn supported a number of impacts which included, but were not limited to, increased confidence, resilience, interpersonal relationship skills and wellbeing. These impacts were measured through a number of methods, including staff and evaluator observations linked to the Five Ways to Wellbeing, interviews with young people and young people completed the UCL wellbeing umbrellas at regular intervals throughout the project timeline.
Working with local artist Smizz, fifteen young people from across Doncaster came together to explore the heritage, history and culture of Doncaster through 18 sessions between September 2024 and May 2025. Throughout the sessions they explored what it means to belong, to feel safe, to have spaces that truly welcome young people. The project culminated in an installation based on a young person’s bedroom called Who We Are.
Throughout the project young people created, made friends, shared ideas, discovered new places across Doncaster and learnt from each other.
A more detailed evaluation report completed by Iain Watson and Catherine Herne will be available later in the year in 2025.
Film Credit: Rajnish Madaan of Madaan Media
