Our Young Wonders group is perfect for anyone aged 7-11 & 12-17 who wants to join a fun and creative group.
We take on a wonderful new project every term and Young Wonders is a great place to build confidence, meet new friends, learn new skills and take part in exciting creative activities.
Each term lasts approximately 10 - 12 weeks with workshops taking place on Thursday evenings, anyone who wants to get creative can attend.
For more information or you would like to join our unique world of creativity, fun, inspiration, and wonder, contact Danny at danny@wonderarts.co.uk
Our Current Project
Funded by P.H.Holt and Community Foundation Merseyside, the Young Wonders are exploring their quirks and what makes them unique by devising monologues sharing which showcase their individual strengths and their potential when they come together as a group.
Recent Young Wonders Projects
A Lost Generation
A short film and series of animations exploring the ongoing effects of Covid-19 & The Cost of Living Crisis on young people.
This project was funded by National Lottery Community Fund and made possible by National Lottery Players.
Dreams of Wonder
With funding from National Lottery Heritage Fund, we delivered an exciting new project which celebrated the mining heritage of St Helens and explored the natural space at the Sutton Manor Dream Site.
Sutton Manor is a woodland and wildlife haven created in 2001 on the former Colliery site. Throughout this project, the group of 7 – 17 year olds worked closely with Forestry England, The North West Miners Heritage Association and Artist Claire Weetman to learn about the history of the area and its importance today as a woodland area and as the site of Jaume Plensa's Dream sculpture.
Using all of their learnings the group devised their own outdoor performance of ‘Alice’s Adventures in Dreamland’, designed artwork which celebrated the backbone of St Helens’ Mining Industry and created a digital activity trail for children and families.
You can access the trail here.
Under our Umbrella - The Bus Wrap Project
Working with artist Michelle Wren, the Young Wonders group have created their own artwork displayed on a bus in St Helens which explores issues and themes that they feel are important to discuss in society. These ideas have also been used to devise a series of monologues which portray the thoughts and feelings that people may have during something as simple as travelling on a bus.
This project has been a wonderful opportunity for the young people to explore societal issues which were really prominent during the pandemic, but didn’t quite get the full attention they deserved; such as The Black Lives Matter Movement, Gender Identity, Mental Health & Wellbeing.
You can listen to The Bus Monologues and download a copy of the anthology here.
Tales of the Unexpected Pandemic
Working with Storyteller Gav Cross, the Young Wonders group used comedy as a tool to explore what life had been like for young people throughout lockdown. From panic buying parents to dreaded distanced learning, the group worked entirely on Zoom and presented an honest and sometimes hilarious account of their experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Wasted
The Young Wonders group worked with media company, Attain Productions to create a powerful short film which champions positive choices for young people.
This film was created in response to the issue that even though more young people than ever before are telling us that they are choosing not to drink alcohol, St Helens still has one of the highest rates of under 18 admissions to hospital linked to alcohol use.
In this exciting project the group used their own experiences to shape the content of the film and had the opportunity to get involved in the film making process; from storyboarding to scripting, performing in front of the camera and editing the final product.
Jointly commissioned with CutlurED and St Helens Young People’s Drugs and Alcohol Team, the film has since been presented to hundreds of students in secondary schools in St Helens as part of a workshop which explores the effects of alcohol consumption, actions and consequences and signposts young people to positive activities they can take part in.
Safeguarding
At Wonder Arts, the safety of the children and young people that we work with is of paramount importance to us. To read about the process and procedures we have in place to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for our participants, you can read our Safeguarding Children & Young People Policy here.