Young Creatives Collective - Community as a superpower
In June 2025 the Young Creatives Collective completed the first artist residency at Flatland Projects in Bexhill, exploring what it means when community is your superpower. Director of Development, Shannon Ghannam reflects on the project which is now in its third year.
YOUNG CREATIVES COLLECTIVE (YCC) is a long term mentoring project for young people with the experience of seeking refuge or migration to explore their creativity and achieve their creative, educational and career ambitions.
The Young Creatives Collective is a growing group of participating artists including:
Abraham O.
Alina Khrebtova
Cai Ashara
Exgsosa Zubi
Fatima Elkhaldi
Fatima Esayli
Gatkuoth Juach
Julia Garcia Lopez
Lara Bahr
Marlyn Lopez
Marwah Bencaid
Mohamad Alezzo
Nour El-Din
Raul Pena Gironand
Rémi Duangphrachanh
Sheffa Katz
YOUNG CREATIVES COLLECTIVE (YCC) is a long term mentoring project for young people with the experience of seeking refuge or migration to explore their creativity and achieve their creative, educational and career ambitions.
The Young Creatives Collective is a growing group of participating artists including:
Abraham O.
Alina Khrebtova
Cai Ashara
Exgsosa Zubi
Fatima Elkhaldi
Fatima Esayli
Gatkuoth Juach
Julia Garcia Lopez
Lara Bahr
Marlyn Lopez
Marwah Bencaid
Mohamad Alezzo
Nour El-Din
Raul Pena Gironand
Rémi Duangphrachanh
Sheffa Katz
The programme, which is now in its third year, developed through my relationship with Rossana Leal, CEO and Founder at the Refugee Buddy Project in Hastings, herself a child refugee from Pinochet’s Chile. RPB are a refugee and migrant-led charity supporting families and individuals from refugee backgrounds across Hastings, Rother and Wealden with their buddy programme, that pairs a local resident with a newly arrived individual or family, as well as offering advocacy, financial and emotional support. I had been a buddy for young Syrian photographer Nour El-Din to support his passion for photography and career ambitions. Rossana had the idea that we should expand the project to include other young people in partnership with the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill.
During the first phase of the project participants were offered a series of taster creative workshops. Our plan was to use the time to get to know each other and to create a space for play and experimentation. We used our Saturday afternoons to map out the values that were important to us as a group, the things we wanted to achieve in the time together and how creativity factored into our education and career aspirations. Using all of these musings, we worked towards an open studio event showcasing the resulting conversations, personal projects, a collaborative mural and public programming as part of Refugee Week celebrations in June 2023.
During the first phase of the project participants were offered a series of taster creative workshops. Our plan was to use the time to get to know each other and to create a space for play and experimentation. We used our Saturday afternoons to map out the values that were important to us as a group, the things we wanted to achieve in the time together and how creativity factored into our education and career aspirations. Using all of these musings, we worked towards an open studio event showcasing the resulting conversations, personal projects, a collaborative mural and public programming as part of Refugee Week celebrations in June 2023.
The second phase of the project started in February 2024 and focused on personalised education and creative career pathways for the group. Partnering with University for the Creative Arts and the team there behind the Fast Forward Putting Ourselves in the Picture project with Trolley Books, the group travelled to the UCA Canterbury and Farnham campuses to meet with students and faculty, hear about the various courses that are available, participate in student and faculty led workshops and discuss the types of roles that these courses would prepare you for. We also provided mentoring and networking opportunities with industry professionals like photographer Amak Mahmoodian and UCA faculty and supported the growing peer and professional network created around this project. The young people also developed personal projects and collaborated on a publication and exhibition on the theme of “Home” at the De La Warr for Refugee Week in June 2024.
In 2025 the group participated in the first artist residency in the new residency space at Flatland Projects in Bexhill between June 9th until June 21st 2025 exploring the theme of “Community as a Superpower” as part of Refugee Week 2025 celebrations.The group have also met and collaborated with local artists and artists based in Beeching Road Studio including Lynda Laird, Richard Phoenix, RJ Fernandez and David Shaw. Work from this residency will form part of a public art trail throughout Bexhill later in the year, leading to an exhibition within the Bexhill train station.
In 2025 the group participated in the first artist residency in the new residency space at Flatland Projects in Bexhill between June 9th until June 21st 2025 exploring the theme of “Community as a Superpower” as part of Refugee Week 2025 celebrations.The group have also met and collaborated with local artists and artists based in Beeching Road Studio including Lynda Laird, Richard Phoenix, RJ Fernandez and David Shaw. Work from this residency will form part of a public art trail throughout Bexhill later in the year, leading to an exhibition within the Bexhill train station.
One of the project participants Alina Khrebtova had this to say about her time on the project.
“It was my first residency and I’m so grateful and happy to have experienced this. I felt that it was a very safe place to share, thank you Shannon for creating this mood. What was also important is to share and realise some people went through the same difficulties and now I don’t feel so isolated with some of my worries. Not all people can fully understand what immigrants went through as its a very specific experience and it’s good that I met people with whom I can discuss it and feel heard. As a result I felt more confident to speak about it through my art and be honest with others and myself. I believe if I share my story it can help others to feel less alone too.
The topic of community is really important for me and I was just so happy to connect and work together with such amazing, creative people from the local area and who visited during our time there. I feel more related to and integrated into the local community now. I made photos more casually before but now with the support of Dave and Shannon I think I will carry on exploring photography more deeply and I am excited to use it in my art practice more often, to create the whole picture.
Also during the residency I felt so much support for my ideas and so inspired by others' way of thinking and I loved working together to hear different opinions and how as a result we managed very good teamwork!! This residency helped me understand myself more and gave me more confidence in what I’m doing. I feel so much better.”
“It was my first residency and I’m so grateful and happy to have experienced this. I felt that it was a very safe place to share, thank you Shannon for creating this mood. What was also important is to share and realise some people went through the same difficulties and now I don’t feel so isolated with some of my worries. Not all people can fully understand what immigrants went through as its a very specific experience and it’s good that I met people with whom I can discuss it and feel heard. As a result I felt more confident to speak about it through my art and be honest with others and myself. I believe if I share my story it can help others to feel less alone too.
The topic of community is really important for me and I was just so happy to connect and work together with such amazing, creative people from the local area and who visited during our time there. I feel more related to and integrated into the local community now. I made photos more casually before but now with the support of Dave and Shannon I think I will carry on exploring photography more deeply and I am excited to use it in my art practice more often, to create the whole picture.
Also during the residency I felt so much support for my ideas and so inspired by others' way of thinking and I loved working together to hear different opinions and how as a result we managed very good teamwork!! This residency helped me understand myself more and gave me more confidence in what I’m doing. I feel so much better.”
The portraits in this post were created as part of the residency and were our attempt to start to map visually our “Community Constellation”. This project is ongoing as we map the ripples of our constellation in the wider community.
We are also working to find funding to train the YCC as community researchers to conduct a piece of research about the impact of projects like this for young people living in seaside towns, a group that has been recognised in numerous studies as having lower levels of mental health and employment opportunities.
We are grateful to our partners and funders Refugee Buddy Project, De La Warr Pavillion, Flatland Projects, Beeching Road Studios, Chalk Cliff Trust, Talent Accelerator, University for the Creative Arts, Fujifilm UK and Govia Thameslink Railway.
We are also working to find funding to train the YCC as community researchers to conduct a piece of research about the impact of projects like this for young people living in seaside towns, a group that has been recognised in numerous studies as having lower levels of mental health and employment opportunities.
We are grateful to our partners and funders Refugee Buddy Project, De La Warr Pavillion, Flatland Projects, Beeching Road Studios, Chalk Cliff Trust, Talent Accelerator, University for the Creative Arts, Fujifilm UK and Govia Thameslink Railway.
