The SEW–Arts project and associated resources were developed by The Kids Research Institute Australia through funding from Healthway and in partnership with Edith Cowan University (ECU), and supported by The West Australian Ballet, the WA Youth Theatre Company (WAYTCo), and the Art Gallery of Western Australia (AgWA).
The website aims to support arts organisations to intentionally promote the social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) of young people through their programs.
This website guides arts personnel through information and tools to:
- Build an understanding of SEWB.
- Further an understanding of the relationship between SEWB and the arts.
- Identify their own organisation’s strengths and areas of need in promoting SEWB.
- Develop a plan to intentionally embed pedagogies, strategies, structures, and environments that support SEWB through the arts.
The following principles have guided SEW–Arts Framework development:
1
The social and emotional wellbeing of young people is intertwined with that of the adults they interact closely with including parents and teachers.
2
SEW-Arts acknowledges the important of an intentional approach to promoting SEWB through the arts.
3
Teaching artists are not psychologists or art therapists and therefore the SEW-Arts Framework does not expect them to take on these roles.
4
The Framework is designed to empower young people to take charge of their own SEWB.
So, how do you navigate this website?
You can start where you like!
If you like theories and research, check out 1 and 2. However, if you are super practical and like to ‘think through doing’, skip over these and go to 3. This is where the results of a previous project are described and how these can be used to support a focus on SEWB in your organisation.
