We are thrilled to have successfully delivered the Wish You Were Here project for residents of the East Riding of Yorkshire and was funded by the East Riding VCSE Network. The project aimed to reduce feelings of social isolation and build resilience through the use of creativity. This project was planned to run online and in-person but was transferred to fully online in response to Covid-19.
We delivered 20 sessions, all provided with kits of resources, to residents across the county. Sessions included sewing, embroidery, block printing, mixed-media and felt. These sessions were for all ages from children aged 5+ to adults. The project was extremely well received and the feedback was tremendous.
“It was so lovely to forget about everything else and just focus on being creative for a couple of hours! Both my daughter (4) and I really relaxed and got into it! It felt like a normal art class just knowing other families were doing exactly the same!”
“I booked a place on the course because I was interested in learning a new technique - I struggle with social anxiety and have to challenge myself to sign up to classes where I would be meeting new people. I found this class to be extremely relaxed and Holly was a fab teacher who was very approachable. I do think that sessions like these can help to feel connected to others - I was surprised by how much I’d missed being able to be creative amongst a small group of like-minded people.”
We were greatly encouraged that so many participants continued with creative activities after the sessions:
“The Wish You Were Here session was an opportunity to interact with other people which was very much welcomed. I have continued to draw and paint in my spare time, which is really relaxing and gives me something to focus on rather than worry about what is going on in the world, a bit of escapism.”
Artwork from the sessions was compiled onto postcards which were sent to residents across the county.
To find out more about the project, visit https://www.threadandpress.co.uk/wish-you-were-here