In pictures: Why the walls of this shop have been painted with dark chocolate

Anya Gallaccio outside 18 High Street, Paisley, home to her installation Stroke | Neil Hanna

When I was 15, a teacher at my school gave a talk that made me look at the world through a new lens. She spoke about Greenham Common - its values, common goals and the community that had settled there. It was thrilling - actually it was electrifying - but disappointingly I wasn’t allowed to go and live in a tent. However, a world of possibilities suddenly opened up before me. I was overcome by an urgency I had never felt before, a quickening of excitement that made me restless, and I began questioning the world I had grown up in. In other words I found agency, and I stepped into my own voice. Needless to say, my parents did not enjoy this part of my life.

This should be a natural part of growing up, but recently I’ve noticed that some of the young people I encounter at Jupiter Artland’s free learning programme, taking part in activities including guided tours and workshops, are feeling a sense of powerlessness - a sense that nothing will ever change, and that the hills they have to climb are overwhelming. There is much speculation about what has caused the decline in the mental health of today's teenagers, but whatever the cause it is clear that many of our young people now struggle to imagine a successful, prosperous future, one over which they have some degree of control.

Artist Anya Gallaccio with Stroke, which will be open to the public until December | Neil Hanna

An inspirational moment such as the one I had, for a young person, can shape the course of their lives, even predict health, wealth and life span, and can be a vital pilot light to the flame of self-belief and agency. Taken further, an absence of these "magic moments" has profound implications in terms of engagement in civic duty, voting, the development of future leaders and ultimately the nation's wellbeing.

Established by my husband Robert and I in 2009, Jupiter Artland is an award-winning contemporary sculpture park located between Edinburgh and Glasgow, set in over 100 acres of meadow and woodland with five indoor gallery spaces. In addition to the more than 40 commissioned permanent site-specific sculptures, there is also a curated programme of exhibitions and events and an active live art programme.

From the outset, Jupiter Artland’s vision was to try to engage with every child in Scotland, and to date over 60,000 students have benefited from Jupiter's learning and outreach programme through free school visits, award-winning digital projects and hands-on activities.

In 2022, in order to move beyond the geographical limitations of a single site, we launched JUPITER+, with the aim of bringing world-class artworks to high streets across Scotland, many of which had been badly impacted by the pandemic, along with an education programme aimed to inspire the next generation of artists, and to give young people a sense of agency in their community.

JUPITER+ Perth launched in 2022, with Rachel Maclean's Upside Down Mimi shop installation. Not only did the installation itself attract over 8,000 visitors, but some 425 young people benefitted from associated workshops and mentoring. Every school in the county attended. In 2023, in Ayr, 4,000 members of the public visited another installation by Rachel Maclean, this one titled Don't Buy Mi - a surreal toy shop where nothing was for sale. Some 543 young people benefitted from day-long workshops, with senior year groups at local schools receiving mentoring and learning new digital skills.

Detail from Stroke, by Anya Gallaccio | Courtesy of Jupiter Artland

Now, for JUPITER+ Paisley, we have developed a new project with Anya Gallaccio - a Turner Prize-shortlisted artist who was born in the town. For her work Stroke, Anya has taken over an unoccupied shop space at 18 High Street, coating the interior walls with layers of dark, beautifully scented chocolate. As well as being available for the public to view, young people from every high school, college and community group across Renfrewshire will be invited to explore Anya’s work with the JUPITER+ Learning Team. Through these sessions, they will receive mentoring and coaching, and be encouraged to develop creative self-expression and the ability to take actions which influence the world around them.

Running concurrently with the programme, JUPITER+ ORBIT – a collective of 16-18-year-olds residing in Renfrewshire – will receive mentorship and support. This youth-led collective will visit major exhibitions and artworks, inspiring them to create their own real-life creative projects and use their voices to effect change. An education studio will also be set up in the Paisley Shopping Centre, opposite the shop and installation.

Anya Gallaccio with Stroke | Neil Hanna

At its core, the JUPITER+ Paisley programme seeks to inspire, to create that flash, that "magic moment", and then show how a future in the arts or the creative industries is not only possible but also a fulfilling and important role in our society. I am so proud that one of the participants from year one of the Jupiter+ programme is now employed by us as a teaching assistant. She is living a creative life and following her passion, curious and excited – exactly what we set out to achieve.

Stroke is on public view at 18 High Street, Paisley from 10am-5pm daily until 21 December, see www.jupiterartland.org/art/jupiter-paisley. Nicky Wilson is a co-founder of Jupiter Artland, see www.jupiterartland.org