The Being a Boy project, launched in 2022, provides space for young men to creatively engage with the role of masculinity in their day-to-day lives. After three years of the project, Being a Boy has grown from three creative workshops with 30 attendees in 2022, to seven workshops with 123 attendees in 2024.
To celebrate the growth of the Being a Boy project and all the young men that have made this project possible, we’ll be showing our first ever exhibition, The Journey of Being a Boy. The exhibition will show artworks, poems, and performances from all of our Being a Boy workshops spanning across three years.
The exhibition is curated and designed by AUB's BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design students, narrating the journey the young men have been on throughout the workshops when creatively sharing what it means to them to be a boy.
If you’re an education provider interested in arranging a group visit, or would love to come along as an individual, please register your interest below to be notified when exhibition bookings open.
A private view of the exhibition will take place as part of the Being a Boy Celebration.
Venue
Hinton Road, Bournemouth
Dorset
BH1 2EN
United Kingdom
Find the Palace Court Theatre: what3words: ///steep.turns.keep
About Being a Boy
The project has received recognition in the sector as an example of best practice. Winning the HELOA (Higher Education Liaison Officers Association) Best Practice Outreach and Recruitment Award, and HELOA Best Practice Collaboration Award in January 2023.
Read on for more information about the HELOA Award wins.
Being a Boy was also a Silver Award Winner for Best Widening Participation Initiative at the 2023 HEIST Awards.
Here's the full story about AUB’s HEIST Award wins in July 2023.
Being a Boy through the years
Project Partners
All those with the potential to benefit from higher education, no matter their background, deserve the opportunity to do so. At Arts University Bournemouth, we’re committed to making that happen.
We work closely with schools and colleges to provide an extensive programme of outreach activities with groups who are currently underrepresented in Higher Education.
The Access and Participation team provides a range of activities for students from underrepresented backgrounds, including the Being a Boy project and All Access AUB programme.
Through the adaptive reuse, rebranding, remodelling, recycling and re-communication of existing spaces, structures and environments, BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design offers the skills, knowledge and work experience that you need to become a leader in one of the most dynamic, creative, economically valuable and diverse areas of design.
Interior Architecture and Design has an enviable record in graduate employment, often working with clients on real design projects in a studio-based, professionally focused learning environment. Interior Architecture and Design students have gone on to win great things, including alumni in 2024 achieving several TP Bennett Awards, Architects for Health Award, and longlisted for Interior Educators Awards.
Palace Court Theatre is a 1930s Art Deco building situated in Bournemouth town centre. Owned by AUB since 2021, it's being reactivated as a civic venue for educational and cultural engagement. Substantial refurbishment has already been undertaken at the theatre and will continue as the University creates a space in Bournemouth town centre for students and the community to enjoy creativity and connection.
The team at Palace Court Theatre work with AUB Stakeholders to host and promote a variety of work that is truly public facing, engaging with the community of BCP and beyond, expanding the reach of AUB work and diversifying the artistic and creative offering available in the region.
TheGallery is an internationally recognised and award-winning space providing a public platform for the arts within the sub-region. While promoting the University’s shared passion for excellence in education, industry, and the sector, TheGallery provides a means by which AUB can enact its strategic values: Innovative, Collaborative, Connected and Passionate. The work of TheGallery embodies the university’s promise to promote civic and cultural engagement for positive impact and our commitment to ensuring that education and the arts are accessible to all.
Throughout the year, we work on a variety of exhibitions, events, and projects with AUB stakeholders across the University. TheGallery team leads on curating, exhibition design and installation with its AUB project partners to provide students, staff, and university partners with opportunities to showcase their projects, areas, courses, practices and their work.
