Snap Projects

 

Snap operates from The Hat Factory in Luton town centre and is managed by Luton Community Arts Trust. The project is led by Youth and Community Worker's, with a specialism in substance misuse issues, and a professional photographer . The project provides, free of charge, art's activities for the unemployed and vulnerable young people.

Snap is also a pro-active signposting service for participant's enquiry's in relation to benefits, health, education, training and employment opportunities.

 

The Snap philosophy focuses on equal opportunities, empowerment, education and participation and shares similarities with the educational work of radical Brazilian, Paulo Freire.

Young people are actively encouraged to tap into their creative potential by using a research process which utilises, through discussion, the wordstorming of ideas and the sharing of life experiences. Individuals draw concepts for the final image and then become involved in set design, set construction, make-up and modeling. The project facilitated Voice & Word's Workshop's; in addition to young people creating storyboard's and the participants taking photographs on location, they learned how participation developed individual self esteem, confidence and communication skills through group work experience. Moreover, the themed project work has also enabled young people to produce excellent images which depict community issues and have since been shown at exhibitions, conferences and events where participants are encouraged to run workshops and make presentations..

SNAP is currently developing a Drop-In.

Over the last three years SNAP has gradually secured funding from The National Lottery, Luton Community Chest, Single Regeneration Budget/The Luton & Dunstable Partnership and Luton Health ActionZone.

As a result we are supported by a multi-agency group which involves representatives from the following statutory and non-statutory bodies: The University of Bedfordshire, Luton Borough Council Arts Officer, The Educational Behavior Unit, Luton Drug & Alcohol Partnership and Safer Luton Partnership.

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The Social Needs Awareness Project was evaluated by the University of Luton's Applied Social Sciences senior lecturer and researcher David Porteous.

The findings have since been published in "Young People, Drugs & Community Safety" (Marlow, A. & Pearson, G. 1999 Lyme Regis: Russell House.)