In this CULTIVATE Case Study, we share Creative Practitioner Jaz Grady’s work in collaboration with young adults in rural Perthshire.

CULTIVATE is a regional leadership programme for Creative Practitioners and local communities to collaboratively explore new ways of embedding creativity at the core of grassroots collective action for climate justice, across the Tay region.

We launched the programme in summer 2021 with a first round of Creative Practitioners commissions, and announced our second cohort of Creative Practitioners in February 2023. We also shared some insights and reflections in July 2023, highlighting some of the ambitions and impacts of this pilot initiative.

This case study collates the work of Creative Practitioner Jaz Grady. These case studies act as an archive for each CULTIVATE project, aiming to share the learnings of each practitioner, demonstrate the impacts of individual projects, and provide concrete examples of the benefits of working with creative practitioners on community-based projects.

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Project

Creative Practitioner: Jaz Grady

Jaz Grady is an artist, illustrator and photographer based in Perthshire. She runs youth based art workshops using both traditional and non-traditional mediums, helping young adults to express themselves and their ideas through art. Jaz’s work explores themes of cultural identity and is rooted in the current social and political climate. She looks to create accessible art, and work with mediums that deliver a message quickly and easily.

Project ambitions:

Working with young adults in rural Perthshire, Jaz’s project aimed to help empower young adults to express their ideas and contribute to positive environmental change. Project Echo hoped to discuss, create and share the values and challenges held by young adults in the region – facilitating spaces for them to come together through play and making, find agency or power within themselves, and create opportunities that they wouldn’t otherwise have.

Jaz said: “I can’t wait to say ‘tell me’. It’s more than just listening. It’s helping young adults amplify their voice and share what they have to say. It’s showing them that people want to hear, that their ideas have merit, and that we can always be learning something new – and have a fabulous time doing it!”

Read more from Jaz in her blog Positivity in Rural Perthshire, reflecting on a Culture Collective three-day residential and the positive power of procrastination.

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Process

Young artists across Perthshire were invited to participate in creative workshops, open days and events, bringing together a broad range of work into a final exhibition engaging with the artistic and societal dialogues that mattered to them most.

Following some of the young adults facilitating their first community art piece at the 2023 Volunteer Fair in Edinburgh, initial workshops in rural locations across Perth and Kinross were the focus of the project, providing participants the opportunity to engage with the project’s themes. These sessions drew inspiration from their hometowns, known environments and nature, as well as creating ‘instant art’ like custom Activist T-shirts.

After the rural workshops, Jaz focused her time and energy on a high street visible space (Average Gallery) which they secured through Outer Spaces. Jaz invited all previous participants to join them, as well as welcoming newcomers and passers-by to the space on Wednesday and Friday evenings. Through movies, games, cups of tea, creating art, chatting and sharing, Project Echo worked towards two main goals – the creation of art, and the creation of community.

This secure and safe(r) space was pivotal to the success of the project; creating a home for the young artists involved who represented a cross-section of the region and found themselves at various stages of life, with many young queer people particularly invested in the space and its creative community. This diversity of perspectives enriched the project, adding depth and unique viewpoints to their conversations and work.

To kick-start the main phase of the project, a branding theme and characters to engage the young audience were created. This approach included animation, a mural in Perth High Street and online presence to “fight capitalism with capitalism”. The colourful marketing featured repetitive characters and a core narrative which envisioned an alternative world and a brighter community, including concepts like community gardens, solar power, shareable transport, positive and encouraging messages, and collaborative efforts.

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Outcomes

Marking the culmination of the project and celebrating the brilliant work of the young artists involved, their final exhibition, It’s the End, was a celebratory showcase of their diverse work – including sculptures, group pieces, and mixed media installations – passionately exploring environmental and social issues.

An overarching concept of the project was to create young activists and future change makers, leaving a lasting legacy of engaged and proactive community members for Perthshire. The exhibition served as a platform for the young artists’ voices and a testament to their talents, inviting the local community to engage with the artistic and societal dialogues that mattered to them most.

Browse the full photo album for the opening night of It’s the End and read statements from the artists involved in the final exhibition.

Beyond the final exhibition, Project Echo has created a lasting community for young adults in Perthshire. They have found a supportive, creative community and made friends for life in a space which enabled discussion, sharing, and positive action for change. This strong sense of community has empowered them and is evident in the following reflections they have shared with Jaz:

“I have so much more confidence in my ability to create art, to meet new people and have found people who I know will support me for the rest of my life.”

“It showed me that there are a lot of different ways of being creative and artistic because although I knew that people could do things, actually seeing people like me producing something, has been really, really cool to witness.”

“I’ve found that its been a very good place to express myself and be really comfortable with who I am, especially in terms of my queerness … Coming here has been a really nice release where I can totally just be myself.”

“Echo is a very welcoming project – its given a lot of people chances to have their voices heard in a very safe and inclusive environment where you can just be yourself and be creative.”

“It’s just been so liberating and so freeing to be able to take any idea and just be told ‘Yes, you can do that. Let’s work on that’.”

This end of project film was created by CULTIVATE Storyteller Lu Kemp, in collaboration with participants and each Creative Practitioner lead. Lu followed their work from the start and captured their voices to tell the story of each project’s ambitions, outcomes and impacts.

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Led by Creative Dundee over three years, CULTIVATE brought together creative practitioners and community groups across the Tay region to explore climate justice in a practical and meaningful way.

CULTIVATE is part of Culture Collective, a network of participatory arts projects across Scotland, shaped by local communities alongside artists and creative organisations. Funded by the Scottish Government through Creative Scotland.