Listening to Young Voices Through Art
This week marks Children’s Mental Health Week, a time to reflect on how we support the emotional wellbeing of children and young people — and, just as importantly, how well we listen to them.
At Derbyshire Voluntary Action (DVA), listening to children and young people is not a one-off moment, but a commitment. That commitment is at the heart of Behind the Pane, a powerful youth-led art exhibition opening this week in Chesterfield and hosted by FutureMinds Collective.
Behind the Pane: A Window into Lived Experience
Created by children and young people from across Derbyshire, Behind the Pane brings together artwork that explores how young people experience their mental health.
Each piece is displayed as a window — a view from the young person’s side — showing what they see, feel and live with every day. Together, the works invite adults to pause, look closer and listen. Not to fix. Not to analyse. But to understand.
The exhibition creates space for empathy, reflection and conversation, reminding us that behind every statistic or service pathway is a young person with a story.
Why this matters
Through our Annual Survey, Derbyshire’s voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) sector told us clearly that children and young people’s mental health is one of the most urgent priorities facing our communities.
Long waiting times, rising need and funding uncertainty mean that early, community-based support is more important than ever. Too often, young people’s voices are missing from conversations about the services designed to support them.
Behind the Pane challenges that by placing lived experience front and centre.
FutureMinds Collective: Turning listening into action
The exhibition sits alongside the work of FutureMinds Collective, which brings together young people, community organisations and partners to ensure children and young people’s voices shape decisions about mental health support across Derbyshire.
This Children’s Mental Health Week, we are not just raising awareness — we are creating space to listen, reflect and act.
Exhibition details
Open now Tuesday 10th Feb – Thursday 12th Feb
10:00am – 12:00pm
The Pavements Shopping Centre, Chesterfield
Free to attend
We encourage members, partners, families and the wider community to visit the exhibition and spend time with the artwork and the messages young people want to share.