Members of Somerset Council gathered to celebrate the launch of Creativity at County Hall on Friday 29 May 2026. The event celebrated a collection of mixed media artwork created by children and young people from across Somerset Council’s participation groups. With each piece developed to help ensure that young people’s voices remain at the centre of conversations and planning – and of course to add a splash of colour to County Hall.
Earlier in the year the Somerset Council Engagement and Participation Team was approached about commissioning the children and young people that they work with to produce some works of art to make the walls of County Hall look a little less boring. A great honour, but also a meaningful opportunity for young people to express their views, opinions and lived experiences for everyone working in County Hall and for decision makers to see.
Participation group members went wild with the brief, producing paintings, poetry, printing, photography, drawings, collages and even a 3ft long Papier-mâché whale shark. Each piece tackles topics as varied as being care experienced, friendship, joy, climate collapse, youth voice and our connection to the world around us.
The artworks were produced during the monthly meetings of the Unstoppables, the Somerset in Care and Leaving Care Councils (SiCC & SLCC) and Somerset Youth Parliament, where group members could bounce ideas off each other, collaborate on pieces and have (sometimes messy) fun at the same time.
Heidi Hunt, Partnerships Service Manager said: “This exhibition shows that creativity is more than artwork – it is a vehicle for influence. By bringing young people’s creations into County Hall, we are strengthening the connection between lived experience and decision making”
The celebration event for the exhibition was attended by some of the artists involved in creating the masterpieces on show, as well as Counsellors and Somerset Council staff.
Councillor Heather Shearer said: “It’s a fabulous exhibition and such talent and heart on display. It’s so important to bring these artworks into our buildings, our work and our lives will be much better for it. Huge thanks to our children for sharing.”
Clive Mallon, Head of Organisational Development & Employee Experience said “It’s been a real privilege to see the creativity, talent and individuality of the artwork, and to have the opportunity to talk to some of the young people who created them. Following the launch of exhibition the pieces will find new homes across those pesky blank walls in Somerset Council buildings.”
The exhibition will be on display for those that have access for the next couple of weeks, with more showings on Thursday 4 June 1.00-5.00pm and Thursday 11 June 3.00-5.00pm. But for those that do not have access to County Hall, a virtual gallery of the exhibition has been created to ensure that as many people as possible can see the masterpieces created by Somerset’s children and young people. The virtual gallery can be viewed here.
The Somerset Council Engagement and Participation Team
The Engagement and Participation Team’s mission is to listen to and amplify the voices and lived experiences of children and young people, ensuring that their needs and aspirations are heard and acted on. The team run several participation groups that enable young people across the county to represent their peers. They do this through forums, sharing their views and opinions about the services that they use, help in the recruitment of the workforce, develop films and work on relevant projects and campaigns. If you’d like to find out more about the team, the groups that we work with or to engage with young people, email participationmailbox@somerset.gov.uk or fill in our Expression of Interest Form.
Artworks on this page: I am Unstoppable by Rosie, Helping Hands by members of the Unstoppables, Zena by Eve
