Cara Walker

I am particularly interested in reimagining the future, moving away from the techno-utopian vision promised to us as a society. With a focus on sustainability, reusing materials, and connected communities, my ideas explore how art can bring people together and shape new ways of living beyond the individualistic structures that define contemporary life.

In 2025, I worked as an art teacher at The Fresh Air Fund summer camp in the Bronx, New York. Responding to a collection of old wooden benches, many broken or falling apart, I developed a bench restoration and design project for young people aged 11–15. Participants learned how to safely use hammers, nails, and sandpaper and, working in pairs and small groups, redesigned and painted all 38 benches, transforming neglected objects into colourful communal spaces. The project gave the young people genuine ownership and autonomy, and reinforced my belief that creative projects can be powerful vehicles for community building.

When I graduate, I hope to apply for project funding to bring this work to cities across the UK. I have become increasingly interested in the decline of public seating and “third spaces”. In some cases, seating is intentionally removed to discourage homeless people from occupying these spaces, something I find deeply problematic. I would like to work alongside homeless communities in the restoration and design of public seating, so the benches become symbols of care, inclusion, and collective ownership, creating opportunities for connection between strangers in increasingly fragmented urban environments.

Cara is a self-starter and advocate for social change. She’s studying fine art and while her visual art skills are exceptional, it’s her drive, ambition and quest for change that are at the core of what she does. Giving her the chance to meet like-minded people from similar sectors would be invaluable.

She has come through our Youth Collective (our youth advisory board) to not just be a key part of it, but now facilitate it, and was our nomination to be part of the Future Generations Academy with the Welsh Government.

Alan Humphreys

Wales Millennium Centre

 

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