Date published: 2025-06-25 | Category: Children's Services, Focusing on prevention, Keynsham Area, Safeguarding
Ten young people in Bath and North East Somerset who may be vulnerable to child exploitation have created a sculpture for this year’s Glastonbury Festival and Keynsham Music Festival.
The welded butterfly sculpture with a birdcage design is currently on display at Glastonbury and has been made possible by Arcadia Reach CIC and funding secured by Keynsham Music Festival, with the support of The Willow Project.
The Willow Project is a partnership project between Bath & North East Somerset Council and Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner to identify children and young people who may be at risk from factors outside of the home and provide early help.
The funding was used to offer a welding course for ten young people who were vulnerable to harm in the community, with the training provided by the Bristol-based creative metalwork studio Women Teaching Fabrication.
The sculpture will move to Keynsham Music Festival on July 5.
Councillor Paul May, cabinet member for Children’s Services, said: “It is wonderful to see this beautiful and expressive sculpture by our young people showcased at the internationally renowned Glastonbury Festival, and I look forward to seeing it appear in Keynsham next. Congratulations to everyone involved and to Keynsham Music Festival for initiating and managing the project.
“The Willow Project hopes to give young people who are at risk from harm in the community new meaning, self-esteem and purpose so that they are inspired to move away from anti-social behaviours and find strengths they didn’t know they had. This sculpture is a tangible example of the positive outcomes the project supports young people to achieve.”
Mike May, Chair of Keynsham Music Festival, said: “From a chance conversation with a group of young people at last year’s festival grew the idea of trying to build an art sculpture – now called the Butterfly Project. Bringing together the artistry, technical skills and support required for such an ambitious project was always going to be a challenge, but it led to working with some of the most generous and skilled people in the industry and, thanks to the continual support from the Willow Project, we were able to bring the project to life with ten young people taking part.
“Seeing the completed butterfly for the first time was amazing, but the real joy was seeing the young people enjoy the experience during the workshop sessions and grow in confidence with their newly learned skills. I am so grateful to the Roper Family Foundation, Quartet Foundation, Nisbet Trust and CURO for their financial support of the project – it wouldn’t have been possible without them.”
Clare Moody, Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner, said: "This project shows what is possible when we give young people meaningful opportunities to discover their potential. I am pleased to support prevention through creative partnerships like The Willow Project, which has delivered real results by building the young people's confidence and steering them away from harm. I hope they are very proud of what they have achieved."
The Willow Project provides preventative child exploitation support services to vulnerable children aged between 11-18 in B&NES at a lower risk of criminal and sexual exploitation and who do not meet thresholds for statutory intervention. The support is offered within the school setting. There are also support groups for parents and carers.
ENDS