Swarthmore Education Centre’s Lottery funded project, Creative Communities, is in the second year of delivering free arts activities for adults in South Leeds. Here’s what we have going on alongside our regular blocks of workshops:
Creating with the community in Belle Isle
Over the next few months, our Community Artist in Residence, Elnaz Yazdani, is co-creating art with people in Belle Isle. Everyone is welcome to get involved, whether you’d like to have a go at some embroidery, guided by Elnaz, draw or talk about something connected to the local area which can be included in the artwork.
Elnaz is based at Belle Isle TMO every Monday from 9:30am-12:30pm and will be at BITMO’s Breakfast Club every other week, which is on Fridays from 9.15am until 11.15am. Our activities aim to be accessible to all, so you don’t need any prior knowledge or skills to take part.
From personal memories to historical insights about South Leeds, participants have already contributed a tremendous range of stories. These are being embroidered onto a large cloth, representing the rich community in Belle Isle.
Elnaz and the Creative Communities team will also be bringing the cloth and arts activities to other community centres in the area, including Cranmore and Raylands, Trinity Network and more. If you’re part of a group and you’re interested in us coming along to a session so you can get involved, we’d love to hear from you! Please contact us via our email, creative.communities@swarthmore.org.uk or contact Penny on 07438 666342.
Unveiling permanent Hunslet community artworks in March
Our first Community Artist in Residence, Rozi Fuller worked with the community in Hunslet and a core group of participants at The Involve Community Centre, to create a large scale collage artwork which also animates.
On Saturday afternoon, 22 March, we will be hosting a celebration event unveiling this artwork, which will be permanently installed inside and outside Involve and in other locations in Hunslet. The artwork reflects collective local knowledge, experiences and creativity.
Search for ‘Creative Communities’ or scan the QR code to follow our Facebook page for details of our upcoming events.
This post was written by Honor Jeavons
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