Welcome to our latest e-newsletter.
Beauty and Utility Arts is an Arts, Heritage and Health social enterprise working with older people.
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Since our last e-newsletter, we've run three Crafting Relationships projects, part of our work as one of sixteen Leicester Ageing Together delivery partners. Our partner on these projects is emh homes and much of our work is done with tenants from three sheltered housing schemes in Leicester City. Projects aim to tackle the problems caused by social isolation and loneliness.
Crafting Relationships are mostly intergenerational pieces of work, but sometimes we start small with older members of our communities, building relationships with them first, so they have the confidence to try something out in a very small group.
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Introduction to Printmaking with Mandeep Dhadialla
Mandeep is one of our wonderful Associate Artists, someone we turn to again and again, for good reason! She worked with a small group of gentlemen at one of our host sheltered schemes, and as we hear so often, this was either the first time, or the first time since childhood participants had done anything creative.
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Alison is a Design and Technology teacher for secondary students and was looking to try her hand at some community participatory work.
Working with one of our host schemes, we started our project with a walk around nearby Spinney Hills Park with walk leader Sallie Butt from https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/
Alison showed the group lots of new techniques including using fabric pens, more printmaking techniques and using shaving foam and ink to make a sky. Everyone also had a small A5 sketchbook and some homework challenges to have a go at inbetween sessions. Some of us spent a bit more time using art to learn new English words.
Everyone's final pieces have been put in to individual frames and once they're all up on the wall, I'll take some more photos.
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We started a new Crafting Relationships project the week before last with artists Clare Miles and Mandeep Dhadialla at the helm. Over six days we've had the pleasure of working with groups at two of our host sheltered housing schemes in Leicester + 34 (yes, 34!) girls from Al Aqsa School. Clare and Mandeep have combined their (many) talents and supported participants to produce a beautiful textile wallhanging inspired by India and Africa. The final piece will find it's home after the Summer holidays
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