Par Bay & Stoke-on-Trent Creative Connections

Aim

To boost wellbeing & a sense of community, creatively connecting two areas linked by clay- Par and Stoke-on-Trent, during the Covid lockdown

I have been running Creative Connections, a Community engagement project for Par Bay PL24 and in Stoke-on-Trent, promoting positive wellbeing and mental health in Art and Craft during the Covid-19 Lockdown and beyond…..

It has been a huge success so far, with 90 art kits being sent out to those involved already. The project is improving people's wellbeing, with them feeling less isolated, part of a community and feeling way more positive about their own creativity.

I am fundraising to enable it to continue for a longer period, to help more people get support during the Covid 19 lockdown. 

The project is....

• An initiative to stimulate community cohesion during the period of Self-Isolation and Social Distancing
• An opportunity to virually link two areas of pottery production and manufacture that normally would not work together.
• Helping to create a feeling of belonging to something bigger and being part of a creative community.
• Enabling connections with other members of the Par Bay area and Stoke-on-Trent, through a common creative goal.
• Encouraging non-artists/crafters to become more self-expressive and artistic.
• Giving people access to good quality art materials at a subsidised rate.
• To nurture positive mental well-being, by having the focus taken away from illness, loneliness and worry, onto a new pastime or project previously not completed.
• To allow a legacy of Creative Connections during and after Lockdown, making the transition back to, ‘normal’, less stressful and overwhelming. Having a focus on community afterwards, continuing to create – but together in workshops and classes and celebrating with an art exhibition, with twinning projects continually linking Par and Stoke afterwards..
• Encouraging a love of learning art and craft skills.
• Discussing emotional issues, sharing experiences and gaining support from the group, whilst engaging in Art and Craft online via Zoom lessons with Belinda Latimer.

This project successfully funded on 24th November 2020