NLGP works with graffiti writers who have a history of criminal damage (graffiti) and rather than condone or condemn them NLGP aims to change the graffiti community’s view of legal work.
The organisation works with adults and young people by offering them another side to graffiti – a legal framework in which to create graffiti artwork. NLGP encourages young people to buy into the legal side of graffiti rather than the illegal as an early intervention, pre-empting a young person’s negative involvement in the justice system.
NLGP do this by engaging young people in detailed workshops delivered at their level and that break down the many elements that make up the graffiti scene.
Workshops range from practical elements that explore the laws you are breaking when you commit criminal damage, where to create graffiti artwork safely and legally, health and safety implications and design. Through to societal issues looking at the positive and negative impacts of graffiti, to the history of graffiti, letter styles and artists past and present.
Also using real life stories from graffiti writers who are leading the workshops engages the young people due to the reality of the consequences of illegal work. The leaders do share their experiences with young people as a tactic to divert young people away from the illegal side of graffiti. Many of the young people we work with need that ‘credibility’ side to the workshop leaders for them to sit up, take notice, listen and learn.
NLGP creates bespoke workshop programmes for your group’s needs so you don’t always get the same old standard workshop format. This approach also allows us to focus on the needs of the participants of each individual group. NLGP workshops can be used:
- To address a problems of criminal damage. This is perfect for local authorities and local businesses alike. By brightening up communal areas such as subways, walls and shutters.
- To engage local people and helps them to have ownership of the areas where they live, by doing this you can in most cases drastically reduce criminal damage and other anti social behaviour.
- As a team building activity for groups of young people and adults a like.
- To build the self-esteem of a group or individual through encouragement self-expression.
- To help improve concentration levels by working on projects that requires planning and thought on many levels.
Evidence of participation
Many youth schemes require evidence of learners' participation and achievements in wider learning projects to contribute to the young persons file or CV where this is required New Line will provide a certificate of achievement for each young person.
General benefits
Completing a workshop where you have learnt new skills creates a sense of achievement and builds esteem and confidence this can then be applied to other areas of life and learning.
New Line workshops can give people a chance to learn and experiment with various creative mediums and methods they may otherwise not have had the chance to try before.
New Line Workshops encourage team building and working together. Relying on and co-operating with others is often an integral part of the workshops, whilst also being able to develop as an individual and create solo works.
Benefits to young people
New Line often works with young people who for one reason or another are not part of the traditional educational curriculum. Our workshops benefit these young people by getting them engage in an educational process that is fun and creative, all the while learning new skills and working with others to create works of art that they never thought they could create.
All of our workshops are very practical which means every one can get involved.
Creative workshops can be instrumental in building character and personality of participants. The spray can is a great medium for people to learn to express themselves as it is so immediate and vibrant.
Clients include:
Newcastle City Council:
“I have found New Line to be excellent providers of a variety of educational and diversionary legal graffiti activities. Work that has been commissioned by the City Council encompasses anti-criminal damage workshops; team building workshops; graffiti-as-art workshops and confidence building sessions.
New Line Graffiti Promotions proved incredibly easy to work with providing accurate and timely project outlines and financial information often at short notice and to the exact specifications required. New Line have shown themselves able to design and deliver bespoke pieces of work in a timely and competent manner. The quality of delivery of workshops has been very good as have levels of professional behaviour in what have often proved to be trying, difficult circumstances with challenging groups of young people.”
- Reuven Fletcher Newcastle City Council.
NEXUS:
"My initial contact with them was in October 2005 with regards to working on boards to be shown trackside at Chillingham Road Metro. The boards were a hit with writers and the travelling public and in a short space of time a large reduction of graffiti in this area was made, around 70% at the time. This was with the help of New Line Graffiti Promotions, they helped to get other writers to respect the legal work and not to stray on to tracks to spray illegal graffiti. This could not have been done without the assistance of respected writers used by New Line Graffiti Promotions.
Since the success of the boards at Chillingham Road I have been approached by several youth groups and schools and now work with New Line Graffiti Promotions. At these groups, the writers are all CBR checked and have formed great bonds with the kids in these groups."
- Steve Hunt Nexus
Gateshead Youth Council:
"Working with Newline Graffiti has been a pleasure. The way the artists interact with the participants of their workshops has enabled many young people to have the confidence to take part."
- Dawn Bowman
Shotton Hall School:
"Both the Community Arts Team and the Art Department have found New Line’s schemes of work well planned and structured. Each lesson was focused and the aims and objectives for the students learning were clearly defined. New Line Graffiti were professional in their teaching approach and delivered a high standard of artwork.
New Line Graffiti Promotions were extremely successful in engaging young people in the urban art medium at Shotton Hall School. As this project was so successful, Shotton Hall School will have no hesitation in employing the company for all future urban artwork."
- Kathryn Ackley Community Arts Co-ordinator