Mapping the Margins: What Art Has Revealed About Young People’s Wellbeing and Experiences of Racism and Discrimination
Good health and wellbeing are key to living a happy and successful life, however, there are signs that young people’s health and wellbeing is getting worse. For Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic young people, racism and discrimination is also worsening the issues they face as they approach adulthood. .
To tackle the issues faced by racialised young people, we need to better understand how racism and discrimination affects young people’s lives.
About the Research Project
Mapping the Margins has explored how racism impacts the health and wellbeing of young ethnically minoritised people, and in particular young Black men with care experience and South Asian Disabled women. There is a lack of research about the impact of racism and discrimination on the health and wellbeing of young ethnic minoritised people, and in particular, for these two groups.
While we specifically consulted young Black men with care experience and South Asian Disabled women, their insights and experiences have helped us understand broader issues for many racially minoritised young people.
Using Creativity to Explore Shared Experience
From October 2025 to December 2025, peer researchers and creative agency Resolve conducted a series of workshops with young people to explore themes central to their health and wellbeing. Using a participatory, art-based research method, workshops facilitated the exploration of themes important to young people such as safe spaces, relationships, enablers and barriers to healthcare, mental health and more.
Young people created different mediums of art based on their lived experiences which will be available to view at our upcoming exhibition in March 2026.
Outputs: Exhibition and Zine
The creative outputs of workshops were shared with the public at our launch event and exhibition, on Thursday 12th March 2026. This included:
- A presentation of the research findings
- An exhibition of the young people’s creative work, including maps and models
- A panel discussion around the key themes of the project
- Refreshments (including vegetarian options)
View our Zine below
Meet the Research Team
Mapping the Margins is co-led by Jabeer Butt, CEO of the Race Equality Foundation, and Dr Anita Mehay, Senior Research Fellow, at City St George’s, University of London. Integral to its delivery were peer researchers based at the Foundation, Srishti Pandey and Jonathan Bekantoy, and creative agency Resolve, and the young participants without whom the projects insights and outputs would not have materialised. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us and co-producing this project.
A group of co-investigators also helped guide the project. This includes Dr Sabrina Germain (City St George’s, University London), Leandra Box (Race Equality Foundation) and two young co-investigators, Kaynath Rahman, Deshawn Sterling, representatives from two community organisations, the Asian People’s Disability Alliance (Zeenat Jawa) and Prospex (Fabrice Yala).
Blogs
Mapping the Margins: Exploring the Intersection of Racism, Physical Health, and Mental Wellbeing in Young People
Mapping the Margins is a NIHR-funded project led by the Race Equality Foundation in partnership with City, University of London, and St George’s, University of London. The project centres the lives of young Black men with care experience and young South Asian [...]
At the Margins of Care: Lived Realities of Young South Asian Disabled Women Navigating Inaccessible Healthcare
“It took me five years to get the right diagnosis,” shared one participant, after facing years of medical gaslighting, forced antidepressants and talk therapy instead of the treatment she actually needed. Accessing equitable healthcare should be a basic right, however, for young [...]
Black Care Leavers on Support, Care Services and Racial Identity
Turning 18 is a big step for anyone, but for young people in the UK who've been in care, the milestone often means having to face adult life and its responsibilities alone. These young adults, known as care leavers, go through [...]
A Conversation with Kaynath Rahman, Co-Investigator for the Mapping the Margins Project
We recently sat down with Kaynath Rahman to discuss her role as a co-investigator on the Mapping the Margins project, a research initiative by the Race Equality Foundation and City, St George’s University of London looking to better understand the experiences of [...]
