Children in Need fund transformative Arts for Health animation
Alder Hey Children’s Charity is proud to support Alder Hey’s nationally renowned Arts for Health programme, which brings transformative art and culture intervention to thousands of children and young people across Alder Hey every single year.
Working with Alder Hey’s Clinical Health Psychology team and Twin Vision, a media charity specialising in educational and wellbeing projects using film, animation and photography, the Arts for Health team are delighted to reveal the Framing our Futures project, and its showcase film ‘Our Travelling Companions’. The film covers the realities of young people living with chronic health conditions and the emotional issues that arise from this, with the title ‘Our Travelling Companions’ coming from one young person describing their condition as such, and the need to learn to live alongside their companion.
Working closely with the Twin Vision team, the Framing our Futures project has allowed Alder Hey inpatients to experience the full process of creating an animated film. From designing the concept, story, and characters, to animating the film and providing the voiceovers, ‘Travelling Companions’ allows children and young people to share their story of living with a chronic health condition.
“I’m so happy to have been a part of the project, and I’m really proud that I got to base a character on myself. I think the film will be really good to show to people new to the hospital and more interesting for kids who a nervous about their health condition.”
Vicky Gray, Consultant Clinical Psychologist in the Clinical Health Psychology team said:
“This project and film will make such a difference to the emotional wellbeing of children and young people living with a long-term physical health condition. The nature of the animation will make it easier for our team to engage with young people on difficult topics surrounding their emotional wellbeing, whilst also helping to show and remind them that there are other young people who have conditions like them, which can be easy to forget.”
Vicky Charnock, Arts for Health Manager at Alder Hey said:
“We are delighted to launch the ‘Our Travelling Companions’ animation, as part of the Framing our Futures programme funded by Children in Need. This has been a very special project, bringing together children and young people, families, clinicians and artists, to create a resource which will help all patients who are struggling with a physical health condition. We’d like to make a special thank you to all the wonderful children and young people who took part so enthusiastically, despite facing enormous personal challenges. They have created a wonderful animation which will have a long-lasting legacy.”
Participant Ava recording her voiceover in the studio.
To celebrate the completion of the film, the children and young people who took part in the development of the animation over the past 12 months were invited to Alder Hey along with their families to watch the premiere of the film together and receive participation awards from Chris and Paul from Twin Vision to thank them for all their hard work. All the participants had a wonderful time, and all commented on how proud they are that their film will help so many other children like them.
Alder Hey Children’s Charity have been delighted to support the Framing our Futures project thanks to generous funding from Children in Need.
Watch the film here on the official Alder Hey YouTube channel.
