Arts Dissemination Project

Why are we doing this project?

Arts-based research practices have been incorporated into the OLA programme since it began in September 2019, through a collaboration with three arts organisations: Fundación Batuta in Bogotá, Crear Vale la Pena (CVLP) in Buenos Aires, and Teatro La Plaza in Lima. In Work Package 1 (WP1) of the programme, these arts organizations (including Familia Ayara in Bogota) were commissioned to run workshops with young people in each city to identify ways that participatory arts practices can be understood as a resource that supports young people in building resilience and overcoming depression and anxiety. Findings from this phase has demonstrated how community-based arts organizations play a critical role in supporting young people’s mental wellbeing and opened opportunities for young people themselves to be agents for change in relation to their peer groups and key stakeholders.

Arts practices with young people have also been the object of the research investigation. During Work Package 2 (WP2) of the OLA programme, each of the partner arts organizations set up a series of workshops with selected young people from the main cohort study so that the research team could assess the impact of artistic/creative workshops as a potential intervention for young people (read more about this additional study here). The aim was to assess whether the arts have a measurable impact on participants’ experiences of depression and anxiety.

Now in the dissemination phase of the programme, we have selected nine Young Ambassadors (three from each arts organization) to create arts-based workshops and performances that will enable other young people to engage with the preliminary findings of the OLA study. They have created pilot projects in each city which have so far involved over 700 young people.

The 5 key messages that the Young Ambassadors will communicate through art-based workshops and performance are:

Young people think that community spaces and organizations providing activities in the community are important.
Episodes of both anxiety and depression are very common among young people.
More stressful life events both during life-time and in the last year, use of tobacco and amphetamines and extensive internet use lead to more distress. Experience of social support is linked with less distress.
A large majority of young people with mental distress are still or again significantly distressed a year later.
There are activities that make them feel better, mostly sports and arts activities and spending time with others.

What activities and outcomes do we intend to pursue?

In 2024, the Young Ambassadors will run a three-month programme from April that will extend the impact and engagement of the OLA programme with new audiences, actively involving young people, local communities, stakeholders, and policymakers with the research findings to incorporate the OLA discoveries into their own approaches to mental health resilience and recovery.

Additional outputs:

Develop an online toolkit to support a growing network of youth and arts organisations across Latin America that are researching and addressing mental health and wellness issues in their communities.
Facilitate local workshops and conversations led by young people for local, regional, and international stakeholders and policymakers, focusing on their perceptions of the role of the arts in mental health and resilience.
Pilot three-month social media campaign to highlight the mental health challenges facing youth in urban communities in Latin America and promote creative activities that build their resilience and resources.

What do we hope to achieve?

We hope the increased and widespread engagement will contribute to strengthening policies and actions that assist governments and civil society in addressing young people’s mental health in ways that “maximize the protective factors for mental health in key areas of children’s and adolescents’ lives” (The State of the World’s Children 2021,UNICEF report).

Meet the young ambassadors

Crear Vale La Pena (Argentina)

Florencia Goulu

Screenwriter/Actress

Florencia Goulu

“Because I believe, feel, and think that life takes on a different hue when we involve sensitivity, networking enhances people's lives.”

Bernardita Orengo

Actress/Singer/Dancer

Bernardita Orengo

“Because art is politics, it's a response to a myriad of questions. It's healing, alchemy, and a million things that, if not shared, would be of no use. OLA gives us the opportunity to be part of something greater than ourselves, to be able, through what we love to do, to give something good to someone else.”

Francisco Tramujas

Actor/Clown/Musician

Francisco Tramujas

“Because I believe in art as a community, empathetic, and knowledge tool, both for oneself and for others. Art manifests and exposes scenarios from our daily lives to denaturalize them, criticise them, and bring about change.”

Lali Podesta

Actress

Lali Podesta

"Because I believe that when pain is shared, it becomes more manageable, which is why discussing mental health with other young people is a stepping stone towards a better life."

Fundación Batuta (Colombia)

Valentina Cano Pérez

Violinist Musician

Valentina Cano Pérez

"Participating in the OLA Project has transformed my perspective as an artist and has made me more aware of my own attitudes and those of the people around me. It has motivated me to question the importance given to mental health and, above all, it has inspired me to seek solutions for the children and young people of Colombia."

Natalia Vernal Aragón

Violinist Musician - Educator

Natalia Vernal Aragón

"I feel very happy and honoured to be a part of the final phase of the OLA project. I believe it is very valuable to have a space for dialogue and reflection amongst us, the youth, about the importance of taking care of our mental health. My goal is to be a spokesperson for the arts, and just as I have found it in my own life, I hope more young people can discover in music a mechanism of resilience and self-improvement."

Soleiny Bermúdez Martín

Cellist Musician

Soleiny Bermúdez Martín

"For me, being a part of this project is the beginning of what could be the future for us, the youth. It's an opportunity to be part of change, to engage in a conversation that contributes to humanity. If I can be present, help, and learn more, and then transmit and share that knowledge with others, I'm sure this experience will make my youth one of the most beautiful stages of my life. Being able to contribute and witness this great research and try to create new things allows me to make a small contribution to making the world a better place."

Teatro La Plaza (Peru)

Christian Calderón

Actor (in training)

Christian Calderón

"I am very excited to be able to participate on the team. I believe that art is a very useful and powerful tool for addressing issues like anxiety and depression, especially because it allows one to connect with oneself and with others."

Valeria Ríos

Actress (in training)

Valeria Ríos

"Something that excites me a lot about this project is its relevance. The fact that these kinds of projects are being carried out is truly empowering and makes the outlook for the future very promising."

Brunella Lainez

Actress (in training)

Brunella Lainez

"What I like most about this project is that it's created by young people and led by young people. I believe that this meeting point is ideal for feeling a connection with others. I think that when dealing with such sensitive topics, it's necessary to feel accompanied, and this is what this project achieves."

The OLA Short Film

What's the OLA Short Film?

The OLA short film is a dynamic and creative documentary that combines the lived experiences of our nine Young Ambassadors (YAs) from Colombia, Argentina and Peru. The filming process took place during the dissemination phase of the young ambassador’s programme, through the workshops and performances that enabled other young people to engage with the preliminary findings of the OLA study.

The film highlights how arts-based methodologies allow for nuanced and personal explorations of mental health and aims to engage young audiences and share strategies around mental health with more long-lasting impact than presenting data or written research publications.

Why are we doing this project?

Making this documentary with the YAs and sharing it through screenings in each city with educational, arts and community organisations is intended to create a valuable resource to share the knowledge developed through OLA with wider communities, audiences and stakeholders. It will connect young people, challenge stigma through shared experiences and draw attention to mental health challenges in specific regions. The film will act as an educational tool that we hope leads to changes in existing policies to support young people’s mental health.

The YAs at the centre of the project play a crucial role in the creation and dissemination of the research. They create a chain of openness about mental health that can have a long-term impact; changing the way mental health is discussed and encouraging young people to get involved in political debates about policy changes to support mental health.

What activities and outcomes do we intend to pursue?

We hope the film will play a key role in promoting peer-led sharing and discussion events within educational and community settings, sharing experiences in arts and mental health both within and beyond Latin America. It can be used as a catalyst for change within discussions of mental health in young people globally.

The film will be screened in Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Lima, Rio de Janeiro and Santiago de Chile. At the screenings, the young ambassadors will not only present the process and context of OLA and the documentary, but will also encourage young audiences to engage in discussions about mental health that the film raises.

What do we hope to achieve?

With the film, we hope that everything we have learned through the Arts Dissemination Project within OLA can be shared with more young people.

OLA preliminary findings highlighted the efficacy of involving young people in debates around mental health, reducing stigma, combating misinformation and demonstrating that centering young people’s lived experiences in research leads to more meaningful outcomes. With the documentary, we have the opportunity to further promote these debates among young people in different countries.