Smile-ing Boys Project – in pictures
Kay Rufai’s portraits of smiling black boys from south London came out of an initiative that investigated the lack of mental health provisions for black teenagers. The photographs will be on display at Brixton Village
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Abdul
It allowed me to bond with the mandem in a good way – and the trip we took outside school was special. -
Musab
It’s taught me not to judge a book by it’s cover – I don’t like it when people do that to me. -
Abrar
This has been so fun. Kay has helped us sort out our daily lives – the positives and negatives and getting advice on how to handle stuff.Photograph: Kay Rufai
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Kenan
I enjoyed talking about the things we cared about and learning about important things at the same time. -
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Riley
I’ve learn’t how to express my feelings more by using the mood box that we were given every week. -
Andrew
It’s made me aware of the people I put my trust in and the people I spend my time with. -
Tiar
It’s given me confidence to be myself and to be happy about my own uniqueness. I love anime & Japanese culture and that’s cool too. -
Isaac
It’s been amazing to hang out with other black boys and to learn that we don’t have to change who we are to be accepted in society. -
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Malachi
I’ve always thought smiling like this was moist – but I actually kind of like the fact that all of us get to see a different side to what we show most times. -
Kodi
It’s been really fun to learn things that the school don’t teach us about ourselves. -
Zion
It’s opened my eyes about things I can change in my day-to-day life to make me feel happier and it’s inspired me to be a leader because I have it in me. -
Cavalli
It’s inspired me to manage my anger in better ways by understanding about consequences – and about how stereotypes affect us black boys. -
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Mikhi
It has helped me to think more about the way I express myself and other better ways to show my feelings, like using the mood box. -
Juwon
This has been very helpful for me to build my confidence and to go for my goals more.Photograph: Kay Rufai
