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On 8th May 2024, thirty Year 10 students from the Ark Academy in Brent joined representatives from the Metropolitan Police, the Mayor of London’s office, Brent Local Authority and some of the capital’s leading campaigners today, to launch their collection of powerful anti-knife crime posters.
The students designed the posters in November 2023 as part of Discover! Creative Careers week, where the 30 students were paired with creative agency Zeno London, via West London Careers Hub. During the workshop, the students selected knife crime as their campaign subject and brought their ideas to life using generative A.I.
The students created eight original posters that were so powerful the agency began investigating ways to bring them to wider attention. Working with Ark Academy’s Vice Principal Stephen O’Carroll and organisations including Justice for Litigants in Person and the West London Careers Hub, the team secured a venue - the Grand Union Community Hub in Alperton - for the work to be displayed for the first time.
“The passion and imagination the students brought to our session was phenomenal.” said Zeno Managing Director, Jo Patterson. “They knew exactly what they wanted to convey, the pointlessness and waste of knife crime, with very little prompting from us. And using generative A.I, meant they could visualise their campaigns instantly.”
Stephen O’Carroll, Vice Principal Ark Academy said: “The UK’s creative industries need to reflect the communities they serve and this experience has shown our students ways in to an exciting and rewarding career. They chose the subject of knife crime because it matters to them, their friends and their families and I’m proud of how they used their creativity and compassion to try to make a difference. Their artwork deserves to be seen by as wide an audience as possible, hopefully today is just the start.”
TJ Chaudhry, co-founder of Justice for Litigants in Person, who provided the exhibition venue added: “Creativity is the basis of success in our world, without it the view would be pixelated black and white. We enhance our existence and development with invention, every part of our lives is improved by the gentle touch and empathy of a creative.”
As well as unveiling their campaigns to some of the capital’s most influential anti-knife crime stakeholders, the students took part in a panel discussion discussing their experience of knife crime, moderated by Zeenat Chaudhry. With the incidence of knife crime in London rising by 20% over the 12 months to December 2023*, they’re hoping the exhibition and their posters is just the first step in bringing their work to a much bigger audience.
Images © Zeno London, photographer Stewart Williams
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Discover! Creative Careers Week 2024 takes place from 18th - 22nd November, find out more and register your interest.