Croydon-based charity Play for Progress is presenting a multimedia exhibition at the Museum of Croydon. Celebrating 10 years since the charity began - this is a landmark exhibition marking a decade of creative, therapeutic and transformative work with unaccompanied young people going through the process of seeking asylum.

Bringing together original artwork, photography, textiles, music and poetry created by and with the young people Play for Progress supports, the exhibition offers an immersive and human connection, and an invitation - to look, listen and understand.

The title of the exhibition is based on a collaborative poem written by young people and staff at the charity:

"You place the earth with the seed
You nourish each day with love
We will soon pick our fruits
Forever we can be full"

As part of the exhibition a series of free public arts & music workshops will be offered at the museum - everyone is welcome! Dates are: Saturday 13th June 2-4pm, Saturday 27th June 2-4pm, Saturday 11th July 2-4pm and Saturday 1st August 2-4pm. More details to come soon.

“Play for Progress gave me somewhere to belong when I had nothing. The music, the people, the feeling that someone believed in me — it changed everything.” 

- Young person at Play for Progress

About Play for Progress: 

Play for Progress is an award winning, trauma-informed creative arts organisation offering music, creative therapy and visual arts to displaced young people, alongside therapy, casework, advocacy and education support.

Working from a trauma-informed approach, Play for Progress creates safe and nurturing spaces where young people can grow, build relationships, connect with new opportunities and explore creativity.

Over the past decade, Play for Progress has supported over a thousand young people aged 13-25 from more than 20 countries, delivered thousands of sessions, and built a reputation as one of the most innovative and compassionate organisations working with young people within this community.

For more info email b.banda@playforprogress.com

“Our co founders started Play for Progress ten years ago because they believed that every young person — regardless of where they came from or what they had been through — deserved a space to be themselves, to create, and to belong. This exhibition is proof of what becomes possible when you give young people that space.”

- Bridget Banda, Executive Director

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