S.M.I.L.E-ing Boys Project

Area: Battersea

Type: Project

Art form: Art, Film, Photography, Poetry, Writer

S.M.I.L.E-ing Boys Collage
S.M.I.L.E-ing Boys Collage

Biography / Artist statement

S.M.I.L.E-ing Boys project is a creative arts project that aims to address the mental health needs of black boys and challenge the negative portrayal of this demographic in the media. It is a public health response to rising levels of serious youth violence and the media portrayal of black boys and men as perpetrators and victims.

The project's mission is to challenge the negative stereotypes of black boys while providing them with positive tools to navigate their mental well-being. It is hoped that S.M.I.L.E-ing Black boys' faces will be seen on billboards nationally and internationally, and that the project will reach every school in London, advocating for a revisitation of discriminatory and consciously-biased treatments of black children in comparison to their white counterparts, especially in the case of black boys.

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