Kunst360°

Kunst360° brings young people together through art, whether they feel disconnected from it or already have a passion for it. Art becomes a language through which they can communicate, create and find their own voice, fostering a sense of connection with themselves, one another and their neighbourhood.

The jury on KUNST360°:

KUNST360° impresses by tackling a social problem based on observation and without a commercial brief. The project lowers the threshold to art and culture for hard-to-reach target groups and shows how even a simple approach can have a systemic impact. The role of the designer as facilitator is strong here: by creating openings for others, a connecting project emerges that can continue to exist thanks to partnerships and can also be applied in other contexts with similar challenges.

What does this award mean to you?

First and foremost, this award recognises the young people: their voices, talents and potential, and the extraordinary effort they put into building something and seeing it through. For Salma Yachchou, it reinforces a simple belief: if you care, it matters. You don’t solve social problems from the sidelines, but by taking the initiative and keeping at it. The award also means a great deal to Luchtbal: a neighbourhood that is often judged by what it lacks deserves to showcase its talents and sense of community too.

How did the idea for this project come about?

Kunst360° started as a design process. Salma Yachchou studied product development and then trained as a teacher. Teaching in an urban context, she observed that many young people disengaged from art lessons because they had little connection to their everyday lives. That insight sparked the core design question: how do you create a system that fosters recognition, safety and trust while building a bridge to wider society?

How does it contribute to a better world?

Poverty and inequality of opportunity form a self-reinforcing cycle: fewer opportunities mean less of a voice, and less of a voice means fewer opportunities. Kunst360° creates a counter-movement on three levels. For young people, creating art supports emotional regulation, mental wellbeing and self-confidence. Dialogue develops among young people across different backgrounds. In the neighbourhood, parents, neighbours and older residents come together around the artwork, fostering greater understanding and reducing the sense of living in isolation from one another.