Arts Project
We believe that creative expression can be instrumental not only in the recovery process from trauma but in exploring identity and having your voice heard. It can also be great fun!
The Rees Foundation Arts Project is an ever evolving, exciting project encouraging anyone with care experience to become involved.

Current Projects 2021

Create It!
A creative challenge for all Care Experienced people. 

Create it is an online project for ALL care experienced people: regardless of age, background or level of skill. In response to the UK lockdowns and understanding the potential risk to the mental health of Care experienced people, we launched Create it. Our aim is to create an online hub for Care experienced creatives. Check out #ReesCreateIt to see how we have done.
Check out our collection of some of the incredible entries HERE.

Every month we will be sharing a prompt that is there to inspire creative work if you need it. You will then have a month to create something and send it to us.

Your work will always remain yours. You can upload your work yourself on to Instagram, Twitter, and/or Facebook but be sure to tag us @reesfoundation and use #reescreateit. You can also share anonymously by emailing your work to us at contactus@reesfoundation.org
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Summer Feelings Art Project
 
Our newest Create It project focuses around your interpretation of summer! Now that the weather is warming up, we want to see your photos/paintings/drawings which symbolise summer! You can send as many entries as you’d like, you just need to tag the Rees Foundation social profiles or add the hashtag #reescreateit.
 
The project is going to be running over the next couple of months, so there’s plenty of time to get your entries in to us! If you’d rather remain anonymous, just email your artwork over to contactus@reesfoundation.org and we’ll post it anonymously.
 
Project ends August 31st and is exclusively open to people have experience of care.

Want to get involved but have questions or need financial help with arts materials? We can often help so give us a call on 0330 094 5645 or email us: contactus@reesfoundation.org.

2022 Calendar Competition

Would you like to have your art featured on the Rees 2022 calendar?

We're calling all CEP as we need your creative talents to design images for our 2022 calendar! What's more, the winners will each receive a £10 Amazon voucher!

We're looking for seasonal images that represent each month of the year and you can create as many as you like! You can paint, draw or photograph a representation of a month - the choice is yours.

The calendar will be available to purchase through the Rees website and raise funds to help us support CEP in times of crisis.

 Just send your entry over to us, along with the season you'd like to represent. All entries should go to contactus@reesfoundation.org.

If you would like further help or support with the project, email becky.dashfield@reesfoundation.org
 
Project ends 14th October and is exclusively open to people who have experience of care.

Centre Stage
Sophia Hall
Presenter, musician and care experienced advocate

Centre stage is a platform for care experienced individuals to share their journey, achievements and message. We, at the Rees Foundation, understand the importance of representation and accessibility and hope that these interviews offer an insight into how care leavers get into their chosen creative medium and the issues they can sometimes face.

Sophia, in her early 20s, has many strings to her bow. She has been referred to as “that careleaver that went to Oxford University” and was invited to Buckingham Palace by the Queen for her services to children in care.  She’s hosted a successful Jazz radio show, named a Top Talent under 25, is a talented saxophone player and a dedicated advocate for other care experienced people. It is a challenge to know where to start in our interview; Sophia wears so many hats. What is remarkable, however, is Sophia’s humility/borderline Imposter Syndrome, something that affects so many high achieving potential leaders.

Music, she says has always been a passion of hers. Sophia has worked professionally as a radio presenter and plays in a band. Music, she says, has played a monumental role in her mental health and wellbeing. You can check out Sophia’s seven-piece band, Jess Fitz here .  She is also on the board for Youth Music and believes in the importance of the arts, music and creativity in education. (See STEM VS STEAM)

“A year ago, I couldn’t afford bread…remember how you got here.”

Sophia’s journey to where she finds herself now is nothing short of inspiring. She is quick to state that she sees herself as incredibly lucky to have benefitted from so many opportunities which are often not available to many care experienced people. She is committed to using her position to better the state of play for those not so lucky.
Advocacy is “both the best and scariest” part or Sophia’s life. As Digital Coordinator for IMO, host of her own YouTube channel as well being a reliable source of support and information to care experienced people on social media, Sophia shares that she has had the most rewarding experiences connecting with others in the community.
In our interview, we discuss Who Cares about Research? WCAR was inspired by attending a conference day at Cambridge University. Sophia explained that up to date research should be more readily available to institutions, the media, and the people they directly affect. (For example : Care leavers in Higher education).

Changing the narrative
By securing funding for the first series, Sophia has hired a small but impressive team (including CEPs) to create the podcast which premiered on 30th September. Interviewing specialists and academics, WCAR promises to deliver informative insight into where we are, where we were and what needs to come next.

“The only person who needs to believe in you, is yourself.”

Follow Sophia and Who cares about research? On social media to keep up to date with her journey.
If you would like any more information about anything in this interview, or would like to be interviewed for our next Centre stage episode please CLICK HERE or telephone 0330 094 5645 to contact us!  

Get involved!

If you would like to have more information, or if you would like to pitch an idea relating to any of the arts (Fine art, poetry, writing, photography, drama, art etc) please contact us via contactus@reesfoundation.org