What can values-led arts projects look like?

2 November 2025

A New Direction kicked of the 25-26 Masterclass series by looking at the ethics of participation - What can values-led arts projects look like? - A conversation on facilitation & leadership with care-experienced communities, to mark and celebrate the new resource that A New Direction published over the summer: Doing It Justice.

The speakers at this masterclass were all people who helped create this resource:

• Stella Barnes, a freelance Arts Consultant, Participatory Artist and PhD Supervisor, based in West Yorkshire; working in the Northwest, London and nationally. Stella was instrumental in bringing the resource together, interview contributors, drawing out their stories and thoughts, and collating it all into the document it now is.

• Ansh Shah, former Duchamp & Sons participant, now a Youth and Community Worker, creative, activist, and writer in the making. Ansh was one of the young people turned practitioner interviewed for the resource.

• India Harvey, a socially engaged artist with particular interest in Play and sensory/Neuro-inclusion and is Communities and Learning Manager for Supersmashers and Creative Families at the South London Gallery. India contributed to the resource by writing out her thoughts and experiences.

This year, the whole masterclass series is being held by the fabulous Clare Murphy, a storyteller, speaker and consultant who brings the ancient art of story firmly into the contemporary world where it belongs. Clare has a unique talent for drawing out answers in a wonderfully organic way, by asking questions that don’t make speakers feel put on the spot, but rather part of, and eager to join in, the conversation.

This online masterclass gave us all the chance to reflect on:

• How we can create projects that are values-led.  

• A New Direction’s Ethical Participation resource: Doing It Justice.  
• What ethical participation looks like in practice. 

Safety, care, love, choice, agency, ownership, trust respect, understanding, justice, advocacy, rights, reflection, learning.

The 14 values of a values-led system as defined by Doing It Justice, a collaborative work by A New Direction.  

Reflections from Clare Murphy

When A New Direction invited me in to host their masterclass series, I did not expect to become a student again. But that is exactly what happened. We gathered to explore the idea of a values-led system versus a systems-led system. Over two hours we delved into the nature of the 14 values; what does love lead us to think about? How do we work with reflection? What does care mean when applied to others but not to self? It has left me reflecting for weeks on how the world is systems-led, but if we were to recentre values-led mindset, the world would be a radically better place to live.

 In our systems-led world, we are constantly reminded to produce more, achieve more, do impossible things in short amounts of time. You MUST create change, be a hero, save people, meet your deadlines. However, values-led practice is the antithesis of that. It reminds us that we are, all of us, human beings not machines. Whether we are leaders, facilitators, teachers, participants, colleagues. We have limits and we cannot produce perfect outcomes purely because of a deadline.

Throughout the course of the conversation Stella, India and Ansh operated as guides leading us gently away from the systems-led landscape; a dense and intense terrain full of impossible gauntlets and harsh unobtainable peaks.  Our three embodied and value-led practitioners guided us towards the bright and often unpredictable landscape of values-led practice.  Values-led work centres around the humans in the space, it focuses on what they need and what they are capable of in any given moment. It means responding to what arises, regardless of hoped-for outcomes.

Value led work is not straight forward and will often go in many directions. The facilitator must be nimble but also willing to understand when power plays arise in the group or within themselves. In values-led work we must also accept the complex nature of time, as Stella Barnes explained: we are constantly pressured by the idea of how quickly we “should” be able to get things done. Ansh spoke powerfully to the need for reflection, alone, with peers, with a supervisor and with your whole group. He spoke to how the practice of reflection regularly, no matter what other pressures exist, creates a stronger and more empowered facilitator. India spoke to her current favourite value:  love. She explained easily why love is easily underestimated, how we often want to leave our emotions at the door when we are facilitating. In the UK being “professional” is often associated with being unemotional, but of course if we leave our emotions at the door, we deny our humanity.  Love, in all its myriad forms is a powerful catalyst for change.

At the centre of all values-led work is the idea that our humanity must be honoured, cared for, loved, and served. When we bring care, justice, safety, trust, love and all of the 14 values into our practice, we centre our own and everyone else's humanity. The work evolves from there. I bow to my teachers on this, and find myself changed, looking at the world as a place to always bring values-led thinking.

“A Values-led approach is the courage to not have the answers” – Stella Barnes

Top Take-Aways from Stella Barnes

1. 1. Ethical value-led projects have positive values at their core, like those that are explored in the resource Doing It Justice. These values will guide the project journey, decision-making and approaches, how time is spent, who gets to have agency, how money is spent. It means that each project journey will be unique, because the people, the context, the political climate will be unique. it’s very different from being system led. A system led approach will follow an existing pattern or structure. Have you heard people say ‘I always do it this way’? The system led approach can be hierarchical, rigid and inflexible to changeable factors; and most importantly to the people who the project is for. A value led approach requires us to have the courage to not have the answers; to be flexible and to reflect deeply throughout a project.
   2. If our work embodies justice it requires us to stand in solidarity with others; our colleagues, fellow artists, children and young people and especially communities experiencing injustice; working side-by-side to ensure people’s rights are at the heart of what we do; respected and protected. Now more than ever, with the rise of the far right and the erosion of human rights, including the right to claim asylum, amongst many others, we urgently need to stand together and consider how we use our creativity to stand up for justice.
   3. We could ask ourselves how we hold ourselves accountable to the children or young people; to the values that matters to them.

"Consider how we use our creativity to stand up for Justice" – Ansh Shah

Top Take-Aways from Ansh Shah

1. 1. For practitioners to engage in ethical value-led projects, we must make space for intentional reflection. When managerialism makes us stretch every second of our workdays, reflection is often the first “task” to be taken off our workloads; however, if we are not constantly reflecting on our practice – individually, and with peers, supervisors and young people – it is easy to lose sight of our values. Intentionally considering where we are, where we are going, and why we are doing this work is key to ensuring we maintain an ethical approach.
   2. It takes time for young people to develop trust – in practitioners, in each other, and in themselves. Often, young people feel unheard by adults in their daily lives, so they will not only be distrustful of professionals, but also of their own judgements. Practitioners must remain patient and continuously reinforce through our actions that we are safe adults and that young people can and should have faith in their decisions and ideas.
   3. Co-production is key in facilitating ethical value-led projects. Young people must be treated as equal partners in our work; young people’s voices must be at the heart of our decisions and processes. Creating an environment where young people feel comfortable taking the reins of a project will boost their self-confidence and will maintain the integrity of our work.
   4. Any work with young people is inherently political because youth is a politicised characteristic – despite our risk-averse environment, we must lean into the risky business of naming the politics of our work. Ethical value-led youth work is essentially concerned with justice – for the individual young people that we work with and for the betterment of wider society. As practitioners, we must start owning this or risk losing the values that underpin our practice.

Top Take-Aways from India Harvey

1. 1. Distinguish the difference between risk and hazards both for yourself and the young people you work with. This is a thread taken from playwork practice in which a risk allows the child or YP to experiment, attempt and question the limits of something through their ideas and actions- for example a saw and some wood left out on a workbench in a well- lit area is a risky but rewarding offer, however some nails and a hammer left strewn on the ground would be an inevitable hazard. The same is true for how you set up or manage a project- giving yourself goals within your capacity, keeping ideas exciting (but realistic) and making sure resources and support are on hand will allow for a healthier, safer and more rewarding experience for everyone.
   2. The concept of value is subjective, and going into any art or play led project it’s likely that a large part of the work will be around advocacy for this particular approach to social practice with other professionals in the child or YP’s life. Remember you are doing the work that resists the dominant narrative about all children and young people, creating environments in which they can be seen with unconditional positive regard, outside the context of school or home. This values-led approach (as opposed to systems-led), makes space and time that otherwise doesn’t exist for children to advocate for themselves or build healthy, trusting relationships with adults that take their interests and beliefs seriously, using boundaries as opposed to rules. In the modern context of rigid behaviour management systems and close surveillance in young people’s lives, it is more important than ever we acknowledge how these processes can re-traumatise care experienced children and YPs.
   3. We are told not to get emotionally involved, however working with young people of any age is inevitably an emotional process, one full of ups and downs, requiring you to take your role as an adult in their lives very seriously, thinking deeply about each child or YP’s journey and future is in itself emotional- transformational work can only happen when there is connection, which can only happen when there’s genuine feelings involved. This shouldn’t be a radical approach, but as the AND resource Doing It Justice lays out- love is an often overlooked key ingredient for any successful project.

Resources from speakers

Stella:

I love this book We Make the Road by Walking. It’s basically a transcript of a series of conversations between Myles Horton and Paulo Friere. It’s out of print but you can buy a second-hand copy or download the PDF. I like the concept of making the road by walking; resisting our reliance on having a rigid plan and recognising the knowledge, wisdom and experience of the people that we are working with. https://codkashacabka.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/we-make-the-road-by-walking-myles-and-paolo-freie-book.pdf

The Risk Chart that was mentioned in the masterclass can be found in the final essay, which I wrote in 2009, when I was at Ovalhouse. It has helped me and others to clarify the different kinds of risks that can exist in a project and reflect on how we provide choice and safety for participants. https://baringfoundation.org.uk/resource/participatory-arts-with-young-refugees/

Ansh:

Innocence and Corruption: An abolitionist understanding of youth oppression is an incredible book by Aiyana Goodfellow, a young creative and abolitionist. Goodfellow draws on personal experience and case studies to analyse the ways in which institutions – including schools, youth groups, and the care system – may harm and support young people, as well as

encouraging readers to reflect on our own histories and positions. Although this book is not directly related to creative practice, it is a brilliant starting point for practitioners who are ready to be challenged on their positions and practice – with the ultimate goal of doing right by young people.

Also, Collective Acts, a research report reflecting on 15 years of Duchamp & Sons with young people, youth programmers, and artists, provides insight into how we may build youth arts projects with co-production and social justice at the core of our work.

India:

LEAVE ME ALONE Power Control and Resistance in a Primary School, Joanna Gore - I read this and many other books from radical publishing house Libertarian Education very early in my work with young people it became a gateway to many radical approaches and other writers and practitioners.

The Playwork Primer, Penny Wilson - An invaluable source of Playwork knowledge and observations from friend and brilliant fellow playworker. I use this and the Play Types (a framework first written by Bob Hughes) as a tool in so much of my work and always will.

Also:

Adventure Playgrounds Jack Lambert, Jenny Pearson

The Cat Came in as a Tomato, SLG Press

Playing and Reality, JW Winnicott

The Child in the City, Colin Ward

"Change is an expression of self-love" – India Harvey

Actions you can take

Stella:

I would advise people as follows: create a manifesto with your groups and hold yourself accountable to it; trust yourself and trust the group; find others to talk to who share your values and who you can find solidarity with - this will help you especially when you’re working in an organisation that doesn’t share your values.

Ansh:

Many attendees seemed hesitant to consider “justice” as an essential value in their own practice – why may acknowledging or addressing “justice” in professional practice uncomfortable? How does (or doesn’t) this align with your other professional values?

India:

Root yourself as part of a broad ecosystem- find allies and build a network of partners through hospitality and care. This might look like a carers coffee morning, hosting social care staff events or trips that invite whole foster families. Your project will feel less isolated and better understood the more contact you have with other people in the child or YP’s life.

Find resources that advocate for your approach (literature, podcasts, social media etc) and refer to these tools in difficult moments to reinforce your beliefs- there will always be times when you question yourself!