The ACCESS project art exhibition: Understanding young people’s journeys seeking safety

The ACCESS project was a University of Melbourne research project exploring children and young people’s experiences seeking safer housing and safer futures in response to family violence. In 2025, nine young people (ages 20-29) with diverse lived experiences of displacement or homelessness resulting from family violence participated in the project. Over a series of individual and group meetings, research activities included photography, art making, discussion, and reflective writing. This research took place on Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country (Naarm/Melbourne) and in regional western Victoria.

This exhibition includes creative works and reflections produced by young people involved in the ACCESS project, which they shared to help others (service providers, policymakers, child and youth practitioners and educators, community members) understand something of their experiences. Most artworks are accompanied by a statement by the artist(s), who use pseudonyms (false names) to protect their privacy. Some statements have been supplemented with contextual information provided by the research team.

Bios of the artists (or ‘participants’) are provided in the ACCESS project report, which includes the background and aims, methodology, findings, and recommendations from the project. Overall, the findings (what participants said) include three main themes, outlined in the first three images below.

Note: This exhibition includes references to coercive control, domestic and family violence, mental ill health and suicidality, and bereavement due to domestic and family violence. None of the artworks include graphic or ‘direct’ imagery of violence.

Acknowledgements  

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the unceded lands that were home to this research. We pay respect to Elders past, present and emerging, and recognise the leadership and contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in building the knowledge to end family violence in all communities.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to the young people who worked with us on this project. We are grateful for their generosity with their time, expertise, creativity, and patience. We hope this paper can be of service to their stories, analysis, and critical insights around the need to recognise young people surviving violence and building lives in their own right.

This project was made possible by funding from the Victorian Government.

We wish to acknowledge Safe Steps, whose expertise and support were invaluable throughout this project.