Events
Past events
CREATE In Full - Dissemination Conference
May 28 2026, The Royal Armouries.
- Creative and research outputs developed throughout CREATE, presented with and by YPAG members
- Our Living Lab methodologies, and how they've enabled meaningful, creative, transdisciplinary, youth‑centred participatory research
- Reflections and practical lessons for participatory research, including challenges, innovations, and what we hope others can build on
What is the impact of this research? What can we expect going forward? And how can we take these learnings into wider networks and agencies to continue to do deliver on the promise “nothing about me, without me”.
Webinar: “A youth informed model of active ingrediants and mechanisms of change in arts based practices: Utilising a living lab methodology' GRACE Epi Monthly Methods 5: Project CREATE - 2 June 2026
In this webinar, speakers presented the emerging, youth informed model of active ingredients and mechanisms of change in arts-based programmes (ABPs). This model was foregrounded by a systematic review of the literature and centres lived experience. The transdisciplinary team reviewed and refined this model through a “living lab” methodology which involved collaborating with youth co-researchers whilst engaging in various art forms such as painting, photography and film-making.
This work provides evidence of identifiable mechanisms and outcomes within and across different art forms and highlights ABPs as a valuable therapeutic experience. The findings advocate for the importance of community ABPs for the mental health of young people.
Speakers: Dr. Crissie Harney, Prof. Siobhan Hugh Jones, Prof. Paul Cooke, Dr. Emma Williams, Prof. Nicola Shaughnessy and Dr. Sylvan Baker. The webinar is part of the GRACE-Epi Monthly Methods series, where they are partnering with universities globally to co-host free training webinars considering novel methodologies, theoretical approaches and lenses.
Webinar: “More Talking, Less Box Ticking”: Insights from Young People, Arts Practitioners, Clinicians, and Social Scientists on the Use of Standardised Measures of Mental Health and Wellbeing - 21 April 2026
This conversation explores how standardised mental health measures are used with young people across research, clinical, and arts based settings, and what they actually feel like from a young person’s perspective.
The episode features Dr Emma Williams (University of Surrey), CREATE Research Fellow Dr Crissie Harney (University of Leeds), Chris Chinnock from Our Creative Connection, and Srhya Lalh from the CREATE Young People’s Advisory Group, sharing youth insight grounded in lived experience.
Together, they reflect on the opportunities, tensions, and questions that emerge when questionnaires are treated as evidence, process, and participation.
If you work with young people, are an arts practitioner or researcher and want space to think critically and kindly about evaluation, participation, and power, we hope this episode feels useful.
Webinar: "Multiple Arts, Multiple Mechanisms: Mapping How Creative Practices Shape Youth Mental Health" - 31 March 2026
Project CREATE is excited to present CREATE Co‑Investigators Professor Siobhan Hugh‑Jones (University of Leeds), Professor Nickie Shaughnessy (University of Kent), Dr Ruth Herbert (City St Georges), Dr Emma Williams (University of Surrey) and CREATE Research Fellow Dr Crissie Harney (University of Leeds), alongside members of our Young Persons’ Advisory Group (YPAG) who will share perspectives from their lived and creative experiences.
In this podcast recording of the webinar we're exploring how different artforms shape young people’s experiences and what this means for understanding mechanisms in arts‑based mental health support. The episode opens with a short overview of our Living Lab workshops and our analytical approach, before introducing our emerging working model that maps how multiple creative practices can influence wellbeing in different ways.
Throughout the episode, we will bring together insights from young people and researchers to show how individual artforms offer distinctive ways of feeling, being and noticing. We share what young people say the creative workshops enabled for them, and how these insights help us identify potential active ingredients within arts‑based practice.
Whether you are a researcher, practitioner, work in public health, an educator or simply curious about the science and lived experience behind creative approaches to youth mental health, this episode offers a rich and engaging look at the diverse mechanisms through which creative practices support wellbeing.
Webinar "Backstage Chaos, Frontstage Brilliance: Being Honest About Participatory Research" - 24 February 2026
Join researchers and young people for an honest, behind‑the‑scenes conversation about what it really takes to do youth‑focused, participatory mental health research.
In this podcast recording of the webinar, you’ll hear directly from the CREATE and ATTUNE project teams—both researchers and young co‑researchers—about what worked, what mattered, and why. Together, they’ll reflect on the creative processes, unexpected challenges, relational work, and meaningful moments that shaped each project.
This session is inspired by our published, researcher–young person co‑authored paper Backstage Participation: Mess and Muddle in Youth‑Focused, Arts‑Based Mental Health Research, which explores the complexities, realities, and value of participation that isn’t always neat or straightforward. Read paper HERE
Whether you’re a researcher, practitioner, young person, or simply curious about participatory methods, this webinar offers an open and grounded look at how collaborative research unfolds in practice.
Webinar: "What Does the 'Co' in 'Co-production' Really Mean?" - 28 October 2025
We hosted our fourth webinar, which explored the complexities of co-production in participatory art, from questions of power and authorship to considerations of impact.
Through the lens of adolescent mental health and loneliness, we discussed how collaboration can be fostered and where it often falls short. As one young co-researcher put it, “I’m seen for who I am in that moment", capturing the sense of recognition that co-production can create.
Our speakers included Dr Sylvan Baker (Royal Central School of Speech and Drama), Dr Cristina Harney (University of Leeds) and three members of our Young Persons' Advisory Group (YPAG) - Frida, Srhya and Annaya.
Webinar: "All Psychologists Should Do This”: Interdisciplinary Learning through Living Labs and Participatory Research - 11 September 2025
We explored how the Living Lab model developed by Project CREATE fosters meaningful collaboration and connection between researchers, arts practitioners and - most importantly - young people.
Professors Paul Cooke (University of Leeds) and Nichola Shaughnessy (University of Kent), together with colleagues and members of the Young Persons’ Advisory Group (YPAG), shared their reflections and personal experiences of taking part in the Project CREATE Living Labs.
Participants spoke to the significant moments they experienced: unexpected shifts and lightbulb moments that emerged from working together using arts-based approaches.
Click to listenWebinar: "Not So Alone: How we are listening to youth voices in mental health research" - 10 June 2025
In this webinar, we shared our insights on working with young people, balancing meeting their needs and motivations alongside that of Project CREATE.
We showcased their social action campaign 'Not So Alone', which is an online community for young people to share art, thoughts and support around the experience of loneliness and mental health (on Instagram and Spotify).
Members of our Young Persons' Advisory Group (YPAG) underlined the importance of engaging with the project on their terms as an invitation - and in a calm and safe space for them.
The webinar has been turned into a podcast, and you can listen to it on Spotify.
Click to listenWebinar: "Do you mean what I mean?: Avoiding misunderstandings in youth mental health research" - 20 May 2025
This 1-hour webinar explored how language and vocabulary shape arts-based youth mental health research. The host was Professor Paul Cooke, Project CREATE Principal Investigator, University of Leeds.
Our speakers were Dr Sylvan Baker, Project CREATE Co-investigator, University of London; Dr Cristina Harney, Project CREATE Postdoc Research Fellow, University of Leeds; and two members of our Young Persons' Advisory Group (YPAG).
The discussion explored how key terms like ‘research’ and ‘resilience’ are understood differently by young people and researchers, and how it can affect collaborative research. The webinar highlighted the importance of finding out what certain terms mean to the people you are working with and of seeking a shared understanding.
The webinar has been turned into a podcast, and you can listen to it on Spotify.
Click to listen