DURING April, arts charity Create embarked on an animated film-making project with 10 members of Winchester & District Young Carers.

Part of Create’s art:space programme, delivered with Whiteley Shopping Centre and British Land, the multi-arts project provides carers with an opportunity to develop creative thinking, social skills and new friendships.

The workshops introduced them to the world of stop-motion animation, where together they explored the motif of "Who I Am", a theme that enabled them to share experiences.

Create’s professional animator Chloe Cooper helped the young carers to design their own 2D animated characters. Through photographing imaginative scenes frame-by-frame, the collaged characters came to life, with each group composing a short film to tell fun tales – plotted out after an insight into the art of effective story boarding.

Taking creative control of the short films, the young carers finalised their animations by providing voiceovers and dynamic sound effects to accompany the visual compositions.

The art:space sessions came to a close in a group sharing at Winchester & District Young Carers, where the participants were able to present their short films to an audience of relatives and friends.

Some 75 per cent of carers struggle to maintain relationships with family and friends due to the stress their caring roles can entail. Create’s projects provide young carers with opportunities to come together and build self-confidence through taking part in engaging creative arts activities. Its art:space programme provides young carers with a chance to balance their caring responsibilities with time to pursue their own creative interests, enabling them to build new skills, supportive relationships and self-esteem.

Create’s co-founder and chief executive, Nicky Goulder, said: “The responsibilities that come with caring for a family member can be extremely demanding, even more so for young people, many of whom take on caring duties well beyond their years. These can see some young people caring for more than 50 hours a week.

"Working with services like Winchester & District Young Carers enables us to give these young people high quality opportunities to embrace their creativity, develop new skills and build new supportive relationships outside of their home. They deserve a chance to have fun during their holidays and we’re so grateful to Whiteley Shopping Centre and British Land for making this possible.”