Change Maker Project
Music. Doodles. Big Ideas.
Portsmouth just witnessed a creative explosion! Seekers Create, in partnership with Portsmouth Music Hub, brought together hundreds of young voices for the Change Maker Project — turning classrooms into studios, ideas into art, and pupils into powerful change makers. From giant doodles packed with dreams to an unforgettable night at the New Theatre Royal, this was more than a project — it was a movement of creativity, confidence, and community.
What a journey!
We’ve just wrapped up the Changemaker Project with our brilliant friends at Portsmouth Music Hub, and it’s been full of colour, creativity, and BIG ideas!
Over four inspiring days, Seekers Create directors and community artists Clair Martin and Steve Baker visited schools across the city, using music, storytelling, and doodles to explore how every young person can be a changemaker in their community. Along the way, we created two giant Changemaker Doodles — packed with dreams, voices, and visions for a better world.
We’ve just wrapped up the Changemaker Project with our brilliant friends at Portsmouth Music Hub, and it’s been full of colour, creativity, and BIG ideas!
Over four inspiring days, Seekers Create directors and community artists Clair Martin and Steve Baker visited schools across the city, using music, storytelling, and doodles to explore how every young person can be a changemaker in their community. Along the way, we created two giant Changemaker Doodles — packed with dreams, voices, and visions for a better world.
Seekers Create Empower Young Change Makers at the New Theatre Royal
Pupils from St Paul’s Catholic Primary, Wimborne Primary School, Langstone Primary Academy and Highbury Primary took centre stage, performing a collection of brand-new songs written to inspire social change and celebrate the voices of a new generation of change makers.
This vibrant evening of music, art and creativity was the result of weeks of collaboration between schools, creative partners Ricky Tart Music, and brilliant songwriter Emily Barden, all brought together by Portsmouth Music Hub Sue Beckett. Through this project, young people explored important themes, expressed their ideas through original performances, and discovered the power of creativity to spark conversation and drive change.
This vibrant evening of music, art and creativity was the result of weeks of collaboration between schools, creative partners Ricky Tart Music, and brilliant songwriter Emily Barden, all brought together by Portsmouth Music Hub Sue Beckett. Through this project, young people explored important themes, expressed their ideas through original performances, and discovered the power of creativity to spark conversation and drive change.
The showcase proved how the arts can build confidence, strengthen community, and amplify young voices. Seekers Create is proud to champion initiatives like this that put creativity at the heart of education and community engagement.
All the songs from the event are freely available on Portsmouth Music Hub’s online song bank Song Source.
All the songs from the event are freely available on Portsmouth Music Hub’s online song bank Song Source.
What People Are Saying About Seekers Create
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“Creativity that changes lives” – Sue Beckett, CEO, Portsmouth Music Hub
Seekers Create partnered with Portsmouth Music Hub for the Change Maker initiative, delivering workshops in eight schools for Year 5 and 6 pupils. These sessions introduced a new language of expression — using doodling where words sometimes fall short. Delivered with empathy, care, and a strong foundation in participatory arts practice, the workshops created a safe space where every child could engage on their own terms. Teachers shared powerful feedback, noting the significant emotional impact on pupils, with many children opening up creatively in ways they never had before. One teacher even admitted that during breaktime, a few adults secretly added their own doodles — they simply couldn’t resist being part of the process! |
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Clair and Steve’s approach demonstrates that unspoken experiences are not due to a lack of emotion, but often because the words to express them don’t yet exist. Through doodling, participants were able to explore their thoughts, feelings, and identities in a way that felt safe, inclusive, and deeply therapeutic.
The beauty of doodling is that it transcends barriers of ability, language, or neurodivergence. This makes the sessions fully accessible, enabling every participant — including children with additional needs or those who are disengaged from traditional education — to feel heard, capable, and understood.
The conversations that emerge through the process are rich and thought-provoking, showing how creativity can be a powerful agent for change.
I’ve also seen Clair and Steve’s work in action outside the classroom, at events such as Seekers Create’s Tent at Comic Con. Their thoughtful planning created a welcoming, judgement-free environment where adults and children alike could take part, connect, and create at their own pace.
Seekers Create are exceptional facilitators of creative expression, and I would not hesitate to recommend them.
— Sue Beckett, CEO, Portsmouth Music Hub
The beauty of doodling is that it transcends barriers of ability, language, or neurodivergence. This makes the sessions fully accessible, enabling every participant — including children with additional needs or those who are disengaged from traditional education — to feel heard, capable, and understood.
The conversations that emerge through the process are rich and thought-provoking, showing how creativity can be a powerful agent for change.
I’ve also seen Clair and Steve’s work in action outside the classroom, at events such as Seekers Create’s Tent at Comic Con. Their thoughtful planning created a welcoming, judgement-free environment where adults and children alike could take part, connect, and create at their own pace.
Seekers Create are exceptional facilitators of creative expression, and I would not hesitate to recommend them.
— Sue Beckett, CEO, Portsmouth Music Hub
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