Saved by the Music
London contains some of the most deprived areas of the UK with low-income households and high child poverty, not to mention social problems like crime, drug and alcohol abuse. Young Urban Arts Foundation (YUAF) was created by Kerry O’Brien, who was saved from a challenging youth through her connection with music and the creative arts, in particular, Jungle and drum ‘n’ bass.
“Music saved my life growing up. Without becoming an MC or performer, who knows if I’d be alive today?”
After achieving success as ‘Lady MC’, Kerry wanted to give back to her local community and started YUAF to raise aspirations through music and to help others escape social deprivation. Since its inception in 2009, the foundation has engaged with over 20,000 young people.
One key outreach project is the YUAF Media Bus. Outfitted with a recording studio in the back, the bus goes into London’s housing estates and is directly accessible by hard-to-reach young people and marginalised communities; working in urban areas where there are high levels of deprivation yet no services for young people to access.
YUAF’s staff and youth facilitators have similar backgrounds to their beneficiaries. They use the bus to assist young people in exploring their aspirations, addressing the social barriers developing creative skills through music production, positive lyrical writing, spoken word poetry, vocal recording and singing.
“In our programs, we are not only keeping young people safe while they are having fun, but we are also creating a safe space for them to learn new skills, and to process their feelings and emotions.”
Listening to feedback from young people, and as a result of the Black Lives Matter movement, YUAF co-created Black history workshops to take place alongside music production and lyric writing. It’s an outlet for young people to express their emotions and lived experience of racism in a safe, supportive space, improving mental wellbeing and tools for resilience. A YUAF Beneficiary mentioned:
‘I feel empowered from all the creativity flowing through the session.’
URB_ART spoke to Jessica Ortiz, partnerships & fundraising manager of YUAF (www.yuaf.org). Young Urban Art Foundation’s mission is to empower the lives of young people by strengthening wellbeing and building opportunities through creativity and culture, ensuring that they are seen, heard and celebrated.
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