Over the summer of 2025, Community Engagement Manager Claire Beattie from The Maltings worked with the Community Crew, a group from Berwick Youth Project, to explore ideas of freedom and what it meant to them growing up in Berwick in 2025. The Community Crew meet every Wednesday after school, as well as for longer sessions during school holidays, and are aged between 14 and 18.

The project was rooted in visual arts, and over several months the young people explored their ideas of freedom and their local environments through a wide range of creative mediums. They tried new creative activities and collaborated with a number of artists and creatives to explore drawing, writing, sculpture, glass bending, photography, film, and working with neon. They commissioned emerging contemporary artist April Key to distil their ideas into a new public artwork. The completed piece is a suspended sculpture incorporating carved words expressing freedom, combined with neon elements shaped from gestures made by the young people during an expressive photography workshop. This co‑produced public artwork is set to be installed in the new Maltings building currently in development in the centre of Berwick.

In November 2025, the young people produced and curated an exhibition of their creative work, including a poetry reading, and hosted creative workshops as a celebration and sharing of their process with the local community.

Debra Jerdan from Berwick Youth Centre said: “This project was a shining example of community collaboration at its best. By working with a range of partners, Berwick Youth Project fostered strong bonds with organisations, artists, and local residents. These partnerships enriched the experience for the young participants and demonstrated the power of collective effort in nurturing talent and building community spirit. The initiative has left a legacy, showing how creative opportunities can inspire young people, strengthen community ties, and highlight the importance of investing in cultural development. In every sense, the Community Crew’s journey reflects the transformative potential of art, collaboration, and shared pride.”