This online art gallery is run by the National Children’s Bureau and the University of Kent as part of their Living Assessments project in partnership with the University of Cambridge. Find out more here.

We are currently collecting submissions around the theme of Adventure, in whatever the word means to young people who identify as social care experienced and/or as having a disability and are under the age of 25. 

A £200 gift voucher will be awarded to the best artwork submission and second and third place will also receive prizes.

Click here to enter a submission or email us at onlinegallery@ncb.org.uk.

Troy, 22

Adventure of me

Life you wonder it’s the unknown. Being who I am as a Autistic young person who has a learning disability is a adventure.

Being a youth activist advocating for SEND, Youth voice and inspiring young people and speaking to decision makers that’s a adventure.

Spending time with my friends going to meals out and watching movies and even calling on the phone laughing with joy that’s a adventure.

Being home with my Mum and sister enjoying the chilling weekends and spending time together as one with the rest of the family cherishing the moments we have together, that’s a adventure.

The world we live in spins every day as the moment of life goes on. The memories we share, the challenges we face, the opportunities we gain, the love we share. The forever care we give will forever be the adventure that is me.

Hope, 13

"These two pieces of connected artwork represent what adventure means to me. The first is an old faded map, one with forests and on top little notes of plans of adventures to different places. The second one is of me and one of my friends living out the adventure, in the places shown on the map. In the picture we're swinging on vines, as for years I've always had this at the heart of my definition of adventure."

Yusuf, 16

The Adventure We Never Asked For

They say life is an adventure,

But they never mentioned this one.

Not the kind where you pack your bags and run—

But the kind where they take you from home,

From everything you’ve ever known.

The kind where the world is heavy,

But you carry it alone.

They took me from my mum,

She cried, and I didn’t understand.

What’s the point of adventure if it’s not by hand?

I wanted her arms, not strangers’ hands.

I wanted her voice, not bureaucracy’s commands.

A child in care,

They slap a label on your name,

But never ask you,

Never listen to the pain.

An adventure where the path’s unclear,

Where home feels distant, year after year.

The paperwork piles high,

Like walls around my heart,

They tell me, “You’re safe now,”

But they don’t see the scars that never part.

Every move, every change,

It doesn’t feel like living,

It feels like rearranging,

Trying to fit in spaces that were never made for me.

I’m a number, a case,

In a system that’s broken,

More concerned with ticking boxes

Than hearing words unspoken.

Where’s the funding for the help I need?

Where’s the care when I’m out here,

Lost and alone,

Trying to figure out who I’m supposed to be?

No adventure here, no golden quest,

Just a fight to survive,

Trying to find a way to feel alive.

I wonder, if they look deep enough,

Will they see the story in my eyes?

Will they hear the dreams I still carry inside?

I want to be seen.

I want to be heard.

But all I hear is silence,

My thoughts, they blur.

A life of adventure?

Maybe, but in my own way—

Not by their rules,

But by the strength I find each day.

I’m more than the paperwork,

More than the labels they give,

I’m a story in the making,

And I’ll find my way to live.