Being a Boy

You can now watch:

• The Journey of Being a Boy exhibition virtual tour, exhibiting artwork from across three years of the Being a Boy project.
• Identity documentary, following participants in the 2024 Identity workshop explore male fashion branding and styling.
• Character documentary, following participants in the 2023 Character workshop explore acting processes.
• How to Be a Boy, documentary to see participants of the 2022 Empower workshop creative writing successes.
• Beneath the Surface, a participant's continued exploration of dance after taking part in the 2022 Lift Off workshop.

Fashion Branding and Communication workshop exploring ideas of masculinity and gender stereotyping in styling.

Fashion is a journey of self-discovery that can only really be defined by the collector. As one fashion insider said, “That’s fashion to me. Collecting beautiful little pieces of yourself over time.”

Identity will introduce participants to new ways of seeing, reflection on their own tastes, and new recipes for self-expression.

Previous experience isn't necessary. Lunch and workshop materials provided.

Participants will leave the workshop having experimented with styling and art direction of their personal visual language.

Snapshot is a new version of our photography workshop, exploring frames of masculinity to inspire thought-provoking self-portraits. The workshop provides young men with a platform to explore and challenge traditional stereotypes of masculinity while envisioning positive and inclusive alternatives.

Participants will gain valuable technical skills in photography, including camera settings, working with natural light, and basic photo editing. Participants will be experimenting with taking photos outside the studio setting, using spaces across our creative campus to learn how to see as a photographer. Taking a documentary portrait approach, participants will have the opportunity to be individually creative, using spaces to tell their story.

The new photography workshop is a journey of self-discovery and creative expression, a space to tell your story and make your voice heard.

Previous experience isn't necessary. Lunch and workshop materials provided.

Participants will leave the workshop with printed portraits and memory stick of images.

Brand new for 2025, Reclaim explores graphic design, creating pictograms and posters exploring the Being a Boy themes.

We’re all surrounded every day by pictograms (logos, symbols, emojis) and posters (in the street, on our phones). These are created by designers who may or may not experience or view the world the way we do. This workshop helps participants make their own symbols and posters through hacking existing graphic design. We’ll reclaim these materials and make new messages using paper collage and digital tools.

Previous experience isn't necessary. Lunch and workshop materials provided.

Participants will leave with their own printed pictograms and posters.

A two-day theatre workshop that combines acting, voice and movement to explore the pressures facing young men and also the fun and freedom of being a boy.

The workshop celebrates the many creative routes that young men can use to express themselves and how theatre can be used as a way to visualise these new opportunities and freedom. We'll be asking “What does masculinity means to us?” and through the creation of a short performance, explore how masculinity can be expressed creatively as a positive force for change.

The workshop will be delivered by Will Hudson, founder of the social arts initiative Society Unlimited and researcher and project manager for Voicebox, an organisation that discusses and promotes healthy masculinity in schools and youth settings.

Previous experience of acting isn't necessary. Lunch and workshop materials provided.

Participants will leave the workshop having co-created a collaborative performance, with an opportunity to perform in front of a small and friendly audience.

Transform will provide you with an insight into the professional, creative, and realistic world of special effects make-up. Through a series of demonstrations and practical applications, you'll be given the opportunities to engage and create small casualty simulations.

In this workshop, you'll be able to experiment with different make-up techniques and materials, learning a variety of injuries such as bruising, wounds and cuts, producing a realistic casualty specific scene for the make-up industry.

This workshop will introduce participants to use the face as a canvas.

Previous experience of make-up isn't necessary. Lunch and workshop materials provided.

Participants will leave having explored using make-up techniques and photographs of their designs.

Illustration workshop creating skateboard deck designs, using collage, drawing and digital transformation, to explore the Being a Boy themes.

This workshop will introduce participants to the skateboard as a canvas for exciting graphic statements. The skateboard deck is a unique space that integrates illustration with movement and risk. Participants will look back at the history of this object and also look forward to ways in which deck art can still surprise and delight.

Previous experience isn't necessary. Lunch and workshop materials provided.

Participants will leave with a collection of illustrated designs.

This gallery shows some of the Being a Boy workshops in action.

Have a look at workshops and events through the years to get a feel for what we’ve been up to.