Today we're celebrating 'Inspire Your Heart With Art' Day; a day to reflect on how art can affect your heart, and the many reasons why art is so valued in the lives of many people.
With 90% of young people overcoming cancer experiencing anxiety, creative therapies including art are often used to help improve emotional wellbeing, by allowing young people to express their thoughts and feelings through creative processes.
Many people celebrate this day by visiting an art gallery, exploring a new creative technique or even starting a brand new masterpiece. At Teens Unite, we're taking this day as an opportunity to reflect on some of of the incredible art that has been created by the young people we support.
In December 2018-January 2019, we ran an art exhibition at The Spotlight Theatre, featuring pieces that had been created at our workshops as well as pieces that young people we support have created throughout their journey with cancer.
One piece that was displayed in our exhibition was by Elise. Elise used her journey and experiences of cancer as the inspiration for her stunning piece, showing that the scars she has as part of her experience are nothing to be ashamed of. Elise says "Scars are memories of the battles us humans have to fight. My battle was against brain cancer. I won the battle, making me the surviving warrior - not the cancer."
We always have a number of creative workshops throughout our calendar too - from perfume making to gift making, where young people can come together with others who know exactly what they are going through to create something they are proud of. Shannon, who was diagnosed with Sarcoma, said: "I've found it really hard to talk to my friends and family about how I'm feeling, so it was a relief to talk to others my age who understand what I'm going through and to express myself through art. It has made me believe that cancer doesn't have to be a bad thing."
If you are a young person overcoming cancer and would like to attend one of our upcoming art workshops, please click here or email teens@teensunite.org.
Check out some of the beautiful work that has been created by the young people we support below:
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