Culture Dose for Kids - An arts engagement program to support children with anxiety.

An invitation for 10 - 12 year old's who are experiencing mild anxiety to take part in an 8 week art program.

Culture Dose for Kids is an arts engagement program for young people, aged 9-12, with mild anxiety*.
Do you have a 9 - 12 year old who worries more than they should?  Culture Dose for Kids (CDK) is an arts engagement program to support children with anxiety. It was developed by mental health researchers at the Black Dog Institute (BDI) and arts and health practitioners at the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), and is coming to Grafton Regional Gallery in Term 2, 2024, sessions will be held weekly on weekends for eight weeks. The sessions are for both parents and children.
To register your interest CLICK HERE or email gallery@clarence.nsw.gov.au
Culture Dose for Kids – what is it?
~ A study to understand the impact of an arts engagement program on improving wellbeing in primary school-aged children (aged 9-12) who experience mild anxiety.
~ Parents/caregivers will also participate in this calming and engaging program in separate and parallel sessions.
~ Engagement with the arts can help young people connect to their feelings, thoughts, and imagination. It can build self-confidence and resilience, foster social connections, and improve mental health and wellbeing.
~ In this study, we’re inviting children (aged 9 -12) who are experiencing mild anxiety to take part in an 8-week art program in a small group setting at Grafton Regional Gallery.
~ A free program for their parents and caregivers will run at the same time.
~ The program will provide a safe, structured space for young people and their parents/carers to engage with and respond creatively to three curated artworks led by an experienced team.
What's involved?
Questionnaires
 ~ Complete a questionnaire about anxiety at the first and last sessions, and three months later. Also, evaluate your experience of the program through a survey at the last session.
Enjoy the arts
~ Travel to attend Grafton Regional Gallery each week for a 2-hour workshop for 8 weeks during Term 2, 2024.
Interview
Take part in a one-on-one interview about your experience of the program and the art activities you completed. This will take about ten minutes. If you provide consent, our research team would also like the opportunity to:
~ Observe some of the arts activities you take part in to understand the process and your response to it
~ Photograph any artworks produced (with no identifiable links to participants)
Who can participate?
~ Young people (with their parent/carer) will be eligible to participate if they:
~ Are between the ages of 9 to 12 in primary school
~ Are able to travel to the gallery
~ You (the parent or caregiver) believe your child experiences mild anxiety*
*Anxiety itself is a normal emotion. However, some young people worry more than others, either through a greater number of worries or more frequent or intense worries. For research purposes in this project, mild anxiety refers to children who worry a little more than their peers but have not been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.

The project is a collaboration between Grafton Regional Gallery, Black Dog Institute and the Art Gallery of NSW.

Image credits: Slider (detail), homepage square (detail), and above (detail). All Courtesy of the AGNSW 2022.

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