NEWS
Help us raise £25,000 so we can change the lives of 500 young people next year.
Young people have helped us design our strategy for 2024 and now we need your help to make this a reality….
Our goal is to open our new flagship community space 5 days a week. Giving 300 young people safe access to our creative spaces, mentoring, therapeutic & employment support.
We also want to build trusted relationships with 200 new young people. A team of young people who have progressed through our programmes will lead this work - taking our creative programmes into the community to support the next generation of young people.
Please help us make young people’s vision for change possible by donating here and sharing with your networks
GUCCI ANNOUNCES THE LAUNCH OF THE CHANGEMAKERS LONDON PROGRAMME
Launched in 2023, Changemakers London is the first European extension of Gucci’s groundbreaking ‘Changemakers’ initiative. The programme includes a Scholarship Programme with London College of Fashion (LCF), University of the Arts London (UAL) and Grants for three changemaking London grassroots organisations incl ART AGAINST KNIVES with the intention of opening up the creative industries to young adults from marginalised communities.
The programme’s ultimate aim is to create positive impact in the capital’s fashion and creative industries. For more information read HERE
‘Holding Our Own: A guide to non-policing solutions to serious youth violence’
We’re part of a groundbreaking report launched today by a coalition of grassroots groups and campaigning organisations that calls for a new approach to tackling serious youth violence, with the powers of the police rolled back and more funding and support given for young people to thrive.
Together we argue that the government are harming communities by failing to invest in young people, and say that the policing of young people, particularly young people of colour, is damaging their futures.
We’re proud to be 1 of 9 organisations who have authored the report that advocates for major investment in trauma-informed and racially literate support for young people to prevent harm, build trusting relationships and support them with issues they face. We also call attention to the ways in which the rhetoric around - and subsequent government action towards - serious youth violence continues to be underpinned by racism and ignorance around its root causes.
Read the full report HERE
We recently hosted our annual Young Talent Awards. It was an action packed afternoon, with performances from young people from our music studio who had written and produced their own music, dance routines and poems from young women from our community nail bars and business pitches from young people who have taken part in our recent business development sessions at The Studio. It was a true celebration of everyone's hard work and talent.
P.S We’re already planning our next one, if you’d like to get involved or sponsor our next event please get in touch!
In March we hosted a pop-up nail bar at Southbank Centre’s annual WOW Festival 2023. We used this as an opportunity to open dialogue about what more could be done to support young women and non-binary people at risk of violence. We learnt loads from all the incredible young people who let us paint their nails, from what it means to be a feminist through to what action should and can be taken by individuals and organisations. We were inspired by you all!
We’re proud to present our newest art print collection; 26 prints of each letter of the alphabet & 10 prints (0-9) of each number - in their own artistry and creative take. Prints are £25 each and available to buy from our online gallery now.
This collection has been made possible thanks to support from our partners Emperor Design Agency. It was curated by Fedrigoni and Twist Print
For specific enquiries please contact hello@artagainstknives.com
Due to the personal connection, we were chosen by the fantastic and inspiring Helen McGinn as a charity partner for her appearance on BBC Celebrity Mastermind which aired on the 4th March 2023. Helen is a best-selling author, an expert in wine, award winning blogger and TV presenter. Her life was tragically impacted when her brother sadly lost his life during an unprovoked and violent attack 20 years ago. Check out this amazing film that Helen made with young people and our team HERE.
We’re on the hunt for a new Music Engineer + Artist Development Support Worker to lead on music engineering specifically supporting the recording, mixing and mastering of tracks created by young people through our weekly project; The LAB.
Alongside this, you will be cultivating positive relationships and supporting young people to develop as artists; finding their individual voices, helping shape their artistic style & practice and co-developing their portfolio of creative skills.
Check out our recruitment pack here.
P.S We support & celebrate different life experiences. Lived experience is as important to us as qualifications or work experience.
We’re celebrating The LAB’s 7th birthday this week (5th - 11th Sept 22). Stay tuned for new music and a snapshot over the past 7 years.
Thank you to everyone who’s been part of The LAB’s journey and beyond. 🚀🧪🎤
We’re on the hunt for a new Senior Youth Worker to join our established Creative Spaces Team.
This is a really exciting role, you will lead on our Young Black Men’s Mental Health Project, a new partnership with the NHS supporting young black men aged 10-25. The project will be co-produced with a team of young people and explore the needs of young black men, map and understand the services currently available and make recommendations for wider systems change in Barnet.
Check out our recruitment pack here. Deadline 9th August @12pm.
P.S We support & celebrate different life experiences. Lived experience is as important to us as qualifications or work experience.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who generously donated to our Spacehive crowdfunder. The collective support of 170 backers has meant we’ve been able to save our creative youth space in North London.
The young people we support have put together this personal thank you, so take a listen to hear first hand how they feel as a result of their space being saved.
We’re so looking forward on sharing all of the creative #YoungTalent that will be produced in the space over the coming year.
We have only a few weeks left to #SaveOurSpace. With thanks to over 120 donors, we have £18,500 left to raise of our £80k target. Can you donate to help us make it to the finish line?
Our creative youth space in North London is at risk of closing. It provides 400+ young people with a safe space to imagine, learn & create their own positive futures. Our young people continue to face immense risk, exacerbated by the pandemic, with mental health being a key driver. They need this creative space more than ever.
Watch this short film to hear why this space is so crucial + read about our campaign in Dazed Magazine + Polyester Zine.
The latest episode from our podcast is a flip from our usual format, and sees Young Advocates from the Alliance for Youth Justice & Leaders Unlocked interviewing our One Mic Real Talk crew about their experiences of the Police, Criminal Justice System and Youth violence. Listen to the first of a three part series, focusing on stereotyping and the impact that has had on them.
Thanks so much for asking us to be part of this really vital work guys. Read their full report released this week.
Young women from one of our community nail bars, Dollis Dolls Nails, have spent the past year creating their own Zine to document their experiences & ideas for change amidst the redevelopment of their community.
They’ve covered everything from empowerment, representation & safety, & collaborated with a range of creative professionals to bring it to life. It will be available to buy very soon!
We’re on the look out for some more Trustees to join our board.
Are you up for it? Check out our full recruitment pack HERE for all the information you need.
New to being a Trustee? Check out www.gettingonboard.org they have have amazing resources for aspiring Trustees.
Please do drop us a line if you’d like to have a chat about anything hello@artagainstknives.com
Deadline: End of Jan 2022
CELEBRATING NATIONAL YOUTH WORK WEEK
In celebration of national #YouthWorkWeek this November, we nominated Christala Hadjioannou as our youth work champion, here's why…
Christala’s passion, commitment and generosity constantly inspires us all. She works tirelessly, always putting young people first and has a unique ability to maintain humour and bring joy even on the most challenging of days. Young people told us that she is someone they can always go to, and consistently has their best interests at heart, she will listen without judgment, and maintains the perfect balance between honesty and kindness. Thank you Christala for being a wonderful programme manager and youth work champion - you really are a gift to Art Against Knives.
Our Creative Studio has been open for 6 years and it’s at risk of closing.
This is a vital safe space for over 400 underserved young people in North London, providing them with a place to imagine, learn & create their own positive futures, free from violence.
In our decade as charity, it’s never been harder to secure funding. Youth services have faced a decade of austerity, they’ve been dismantled and drastically underfunded. The effect of this has been compounded by the pandemic.
We need a minimum of £80k to ensure we can keep our space open 3 days a week with the specialist staff team in place to effectively support young people. We’re on a mission to secure this by February 2022, and we need your help.
Please donate & share, share, share. Drop us a line if you’d like to do more, saveourspace@artagainstknives.com
This month we celebrated our 10th Birthday with a vibrant and inspiring youth-led event.
It was so beautiful to see the entire AAK family of young people, staff and trustees, both past and present come together under one roof to celebrate the achievements of all the talented young people we have had the privilege of working with over the decade, and to celebrate the impact AAK has had across the community.
Our young people brought the most amazing vibes with some incredible performances, DJ sets and hosting of our first ever Young Talent Awards.
We would like to thank everyone who attended our event and everyone who has contributed to our work over the last 10 years. Thank you for being a part of something so special and so important. Here's to another 10 years of strengthening the AAK community and continuing to achieve great outcomes for our young people together.
Every-month we round up the latest creative opportunities for young people to connect and learn from industry. This months CREATIVE ROUNDUP includes a women in business talk, wellbeing event, and website masterclass. The EMPLOYMENT ROUNDUP includes a paid advertising placement, graphic design roles and a fashion opportunity. Seeing as we're doing the work to pull this together for the young people we directly support - we like to share with everyone in our network too.
We’re so excited to be working in partnership with Apple for the next 12 months to launch our very own podcast. After consulting with young people on the branding, we are now ready to start recording! Our first recording session is taking place on Monday 1st Feb. Watch this space…
Every-month we round up the latest creative opportunities for young people to connect and learn from industry. This months CREATIVE ROUNDUP includes a writers residency, short film festival and arts festival. The EMPLOYMENT ROUNDUP includes a fashion research project, media internship and a documentary competition. Seeing as we're doing the work to pull this together for the young people we directly support - we like to share with everyone in our network too.
As 2020 comes to a close, we’re also closing in on our 10th year as a charity. We’re looking forward to new beginnings in 2021, and what better way to kick start the year and a new decade by welcoming Dr Sally Zlotowitz, previously Director of Public Health and Prevention at MAC-UK to the team as our new CEO.
“I am honoured to be taking up this role with Art Against Knives. I want to say a huge thank you to Katy Dawe who has been an incredible leader and I know leaves big shoes to fill. The Art Against Knives team and young people are such a remarkable force of energy and creativity and I can’t wait to work alongside them. We are all excited that MAC-UK and AAK will be close collaborators as we know we need to double our efforts to strive for social justice and ensure youth and community-led services and solutions are at the heart of the pandemic recovery.”
We’re so excited to be strengthening our incredible partnership with MAC-UK and to drive forward our shared vision to prevent violence and promote safety with excluded young people by developing with them services that forefront creativity, relationships, community and youth-led solutions. Read our joint statement HERE.
We’re so excited to be working in partnership with Apple for the next 12 months to launch our very own podcast. We’ll be kickstarting this with a series of branding sessions over the next couple of weeks. We’re really looking forward to sharing our content with you, watch this space!
Every-month we round up the latest creative opportunities for young people to connect and learn from industry. This months CREATIVE ROUNDUP includes film & song competitions, dance workshops, arts activism resources and an art club hangout. The EMPLOYMENT ROUNDUP includes employment surgeries, free mentoring and apprenticeships. Seeing as we're doing the work to pull this together for the young people we directly support - we like to share with everyone in our network too.
We're excited to announce our new ‘Digital Hustle’ virtual summer programme in partnership with Apple & curated by GUAP. It's officially launching at the end of July - so watch this space for updates as we take young people on an exciting journey to create & launch our new digital magazine & podcast. Let's get these voices heard.
Every-month we round up the latest creative opportunities for young people to connect and learn from industry. In this month's roundup we have free mentoring with a creative director at Livity; a Wellbeing Workshop from the Roundhouse; and a Marketing Internship from SevenSix, amongst others. Seeing as we're doing the work to pull this together for the young people we directly support - we like to share with everyone in our network too. HERE IT IS!
This December, we are part of Global Giving’s Christmas Appeal. We are raising funds to upgrade our creative studio spaces in Barnet with new, better and more equipment. It would be fantastic if you could support us once again this year. Any donations made on December 11th (from 5am to 5am on December 12) give us a chance to receive additional funds via Global Giving.
40 or more donors will unlock more funds and support from Global Giving.
Find our more about the LAB
Learn about our design partnership with LCF
Check out the design work we did for Apple’s Made in LDN!
Donate here: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/creative-space-barnet/
This month we ran ‘The Lab: AI Hackathon’ as part of Meet and Code Week. Young people did some great experiments using machine learning models to generate lyrics and images.
LIGHTING THE FIRE
A huge congratulations to one of our team, Talia Kensit for winning the Young Leader (11-25 years) at this years #LightingTheFire Awards - hosted by Leap Confronting Conflict. We were proud to be able to nominate Talia for all of her incredible work supporting young people in Barnet - what a honour to have her working as part of our team!
ARTIST RESIDENCE X JEALOUS GALLERY
This spring, Artist Residence have teamed up with Jealous Gallery to curate a collection of 12 limited edition prints from some of their favourite artists for their guests to buy online, with all profits donated to us! Check out the Artist Residence site for more information and to get your hands on these exclusive artworks.
CONVERSE #SPARKPROGRESS CAMPAIGN
We're excited to have been asked by Converse to take part in their #SparkProgress campaign. Young People designed a whole range of creative activity across our creative spaces to spark creativity in response to the theme 'LOVE'. There were dance workshops, pop-up music sessions and design competitions which made for an action packed week. Check out our instagram for snapshots of the inspiring content they produced.
20/11/2018
1 WEEK UNTIL THE BIG GIVE CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE
We are taking part in the Big Give Christmas Challenge this year to raise funds for our new nail bar on Grahame Park estate. It supports some of the most vulnerable girls and young women on Barnet’s largest estates and one of its most disadvantaged areas. Our aim is to raise all of the funds we need to run it in 2019.
The Big Give Christmas Challenge runs for a week from 27th November to 4th December and every £1 donated to us will be matched by another £1 – doubling your donation and your impact.
19/11/18
YOUNG LONDONER’S FUNDING AWARDED
Thanks to the Mayor of London's #YoungLondonersFund we are able to invest in the ideas of young people from Barnet who have designed these exciting creative spaces in their communities. Over the next 3 years, our inspiring staff team will continue to do what they do best; build trusted relationships, listen to their individual needs and bring specialist support to young people in spaces where they feel safe and inspired. We’re looking forward to showcasing creative talent that will be produced…
04/07/18
EP Launch
We are excited to announce the release of this EP featuring 4 tracks produced and recorded during The Lab’s weekly studio sessions. This EP is the culmination of many months hard work by the 3 young artists Youth, Sparku & Lembz. The inspiring quality of the music is testament to the professionalism and creativity of the young people we work with every week.
14/05/18
Nail Training manual
Busy session at one of our community nail bars @DollisDolls yesterday - testing out and reviewing our brand new training manual before it’s ready to go to print!
10/05/18
Leadership award
A massive congrats to one of our incredible volunteers Franco who we nominated for a @JPFoundation leadership award to say thank you for everything he does, & the generous time he gives to everyone on our music project #TheLAB outside of working for the metropolitan police.
25/04/18
NEW LOGOS FOR NAIL BARS
INTRODUCING....the brand new logos for our community nail bars - after 5 yrs, it was time for a re-brand. This has been a 4 month process of design, collaboration & consultation with the young women we work with. We LOVE what they’ve come up with
21/03/18
London Youth awards
We’re thrilled to be at the LondonYouth awards this evening where Rickardo Stewart has won Youth Practitioner of the Year Award 2018, thank you Rickardo @CommunitySouls for all that you do! #LYAwards
20/03/18
Pop-up Nail bar @ THE HOUSE OF COMMONS
We’re back at the HouseofCommons with our amazing community nail technicians hosting a pop-up nail bar for our amazing supporters ML24_CSR
23/02/18
Pop-up Nail bar @ TATE
Proud to part of an amazing night at the Tate Modern on Friday. Thanks to Stance Podcast for inviting our super talented In Our Hands technicians to set up a pop-up nail bar and deliver some on point nail art! We were so busy we had to ask people to queue!
12/02/18
NIKE Trains our ldnrs
Excited to announce that @NikeUK trainers are heading down to our Combat Academy tonight to host a strength & conditioning workshop! Nothing beats a LDNR!
22/12/17
THE LAB PRESENTS: SESSIONS VOL.3
THE LAB are celebrating the release of their third mixtape, showcasing new tracks from our talented artists and producers. To listen to the entire mixtape and more, check out THE LAB SOUNDCLOUD.
14/12/17
In our hands graduation
A MASSIVE congratulations to all of the technicians who graduated from our #InOurHands Training Programme today. Thanks to @ML24_CSR @sharmadeanreid and all involved for coming to support them at the graduation event today.
13/12/17
Imogen forte shoot
A huge thank you to Imogen Forte, the extremely talented photographer, for coming to visit our spaces and capturing them so beautifully. Many of the photos Imogen took can be seen across our website. To view the rest of her incredible portfolio click HERE.