Making space for young voices: Anna Wijnhoven on Open Eye Gallery’s collaboration with Whitby High School

I’ve had the opportunity to work on a project that embeds socially engaged practice with Whitby High School: I have worked as a creative producer who not only manages the project, but also delivers it too. This double sided role has allowed me to experience how socially engaged practice within education settings can transform the way young people experience creative learning. 

 Overcoming barriers to creative opportunities

Whitby High School is situated in Ellesmere Port, and some areas of the borough experience quite high levels of deprivation. According to the index of multiple deprivation in 2025, 36 of the neighbourhoods in Ellesmere Port ranked in the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. 

Young people in high‑deprivation areas, like those in and around Ellesmere Port, often face barriers to creative opportunities. Not because of a lack of talent or interest, but because access to arts education and resources is unevenly distributed. Embedding creative practice within the school ensures that these opportunities are not reserved for those who can afford extracurricular activities or travel to cultural spaces; instead, they become part of everyday learning.

The partnership between Whitby High School and Open Eye Gallery began long before I joined the team. It was established in 2018, when Curious Minds recognised the potential for a collaboration that would bring together the school’s photography department and the gallery. Since then, Open Eye Gallery staff, including Andy Yates, Liz Wewiora, and myself, have delivered practical, artist-led workshops with Year 12 students. There was even a big collaborative research project undertaken as part of the programme as a partnership by the gallery, the school, Liverpool Hope University and Curious Minds. A conference, publication and series of articles were disseminated as part of the work, which sought to explore the ‘Shared Agency of Photography in Gallery education’. The research explored the effects of socially engaged practice on aspiration levels and has been used as case studies for other organisations since. 

These sessions on the programme took place within school time and were designed to help students think through ideas in an open, exploratory way. We ran photowalks, research sessions, and gallery visits; we introduced artists, discussed themes, analysed images, and encouraged students to experiment through their own lens. And importantly, the project didn’t end in the classroom. Each year, students were invited to exhibit their work at the gallery, giving them a public platform and the experience of seeing their images in a professional setting.

Honestly, I thought it was the most amazing experience ever. And I will forever cherish this moment for the rest of my life. I was so excited to show my piece to my family and friends and I feel very proud of myself for what I have accomplished with my work.

 

Student feedback

Creating space for young voices to be heard on their own terms

Therefore, this project’s aim has always been to create space for their voices to be heard on their own terms. Many students brought forward experiences rooted in their local community, their families, and their identities. By supporting them to explore these themes visually, we were able to platform authentic perspectives that are often overlooked. It gave students the chance to see the value in their own lived experiences and to recognise that their stories deserve to be shared, respected, and celebrated.

Working as a photographer/producer within the school meant that my interactions with the students extended beyond the workshop setting, and I became a familiar face who wasn’t there to assess or grade, but to support and create alongside the students. 

My aim for this project was to always be responsive and to introduce photography as a visual language, used for self-expression, reflection and connection. Above all, I wanted young people to see photography as accessible, flexible, and empowering. Something they could carry into all areas of their lives, whether or not they continued to study the arts. 

Embedding this kind of practice within a school also acknowledges the realities of teaching. Teachers work under immense pressure, with limited time and ever‑growing responsibilities, which can make space for open-ended creative exploration difficult to sustain within the regular curriculum. An embedded creative role, like this, complements teachers’ work rather than interrupting it and offers students a dedicated space for personal exploration, experimentation, collaboration, and creative risk-taking without adding to teachers’ workload. This partnership was a supportive partnership where teachers retained continuity and structure, while the creative practice provided a flexible space for students to explore ideas in a different way.

I believe I’ve learned a lot from this experience looking back on my journey, but the main thing I’ve learned is to have more trust in myself and believe that I can do it no matter what it is.

 

Student feedback

I think that the install of my work was very fun, because we got to plaster, sand and paint. Plus, it was with my friends, it was even more funnier and I loved it. And I’m very happy about putting my stuff on the wall. And I felt excited when I put my pictures up.

 

Student feedback

I feel like the exhibition has developed me as a photographer with my skills and stuff because it was a massive difference from GCSE photography, like we actually got to experience where our work would be in an actual gallery. So just an amazing experience altogether.

 

Student feedback

Socially engaged photography as a transformative practice

Throughout my time working on this partnership, I’ve seen how this kind of work can spark curiosity, build confidence, and open up new ways of understanding themselves and the world around them. Year on year, I have felt immensely proud of each of the students for their growth in confidence. Not just around making their work but also with how they talk about it, and their experiences. 

It’s easy to judge young people, we jump to conclusions, we don’t listen properly and we put it down to inexperience and naivety, but young people deserve to have a say in what happens in the world. We should be platforming their experiences and making space for them to share their thoughts, feelings and opinions. 

Photography is an accessible language that can help us empathise and allow us to communicate experiences and emotions that might be difficult to express in other ways. It also gives us a way to understand others’ experiences in a way that feels immediate and relatable. Many people connect more naturally with visual stories because an image can hold memories, emotions, and fragments of identity. Through photographing places, objects, or moments, we can reveal things we haven’t put into words before. This way, photography becomes a tool for making sense of the world and our place within it.

Taking this time to reflect on this partnership has shown me just how transformative embedding socially engaged practice within schools can be for young people. It offers them a space to explore identity, build confidence, and collaborate in ways that traditional education often cannot. The images they create become more than photographs, they become evidence of growth, of community, and of the importance of making space for creativity within education.

Feedback from students is overwhelmingly positive. In the 24/25 academic year, ‘My community’ was the theme of the project. Students were encouraged to use their time to explore what Ellesmere Port meant to them, and to use their visual language skills to tell others about the place they call home. One of the students, Alex, said that the project made him appreciate Ellesmere Port’s community spirit a lot more. He thought that they [the people of Ellesmere Port] have something special that many other towns don’t have. He was glad to have captured this in his project. Alex hoped that people viewing their exhibition saw how the young people felt towards his community. 

Alex spent some time with us in the summer getting some work experience with the Open Eye team and even wrote for us about his time here. 

Over the years, there have been many times that students who have taken part in a project and have been inspired to carry on their photography journey. Many of the students we have worked with have gone on to study photography at University, or have continued to use their new skills in other areas of their lives, because this project isn’t just about building the skills to take photographs, it gives skills for life. 

I believe that this project has given me lots of skills in the future such as communication skills because of the presentations and communicating my ideas and ideas for the layout. Also being able to build upon feedback and take it on board to improve my work has improved my confidence.

 

Student feedback

As schools continue to navigate increasing pressures and reduced resources for the arts, projects like this demonstrate why creative engagement isn’t a luxury, it is essential. And when young people are trusted, listened to, and supported in their creativity, the impact can be profound.

Young people carry the stories, questions, and hopes that will define what comes next. It is our responsibility to listen, to believe them, and to make space for their voices.

Text: Anna Wijnhoven

Images: Rob Battersby