ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we begin to explore some of the practical implications of voice in Changing the Story and related projects. Our focus here is on the art produced by a range of participatory arts-based projects. In many arts-based projects, there is surprisingly little attention paid to this aspect of the work, with the art itself seldom being considered within the context of a project’s research findings. Given the fact that the rationale for much of this kind of work tends to be ‘youth empowerment’, or the amplification of ‘youth voice’, it is surprising that the art, which for participants is often the primary articulation of their ‘voice’ and a product of their empowerment, is often ignored by researchers. In this chapter, we explore a range of artworks produced by the programme, as curated by the Changing the Story Youth Research Board, a group tasked with producing an arts-based evaluation of the programme. Drawing on methods of ‘close reading’ favoured by the arts and humanities, this chapter explores what the transrational voice can look, sound and feel like in practice, and how this can provide new insights into both the research findings and practical implications of the projects explored in this volume.
