Spotlight on All Change Arts

Objectives of the Charity

The main objectives of the charity are to bring artists and communities together to promote positive change. Their work in Islington reaches those living on low income and experiencing multiple disadvantages.

Community Pot Project Name

Warm Welcome

Key Project Objectives

To welcome more vulnerable local people into 27 Dingley Place, to enjoy a chat and cuppa and take part in accessible creative workshops.

Inclusive and mindful activities and social events will improve beneficiaries’ emotional well-being, build resilience, and generate vital support networks to help people cope with the cost-of-living crisis.

A professional artist called Marisa worked on the project with the beneficiaries and it was a collective effort and experience.

Beneficiaries

Local people of different ages took part in the project. The charity aims to work with over 100 local people. So far, they have worked with over 60 residents. Work has been done to increase this number, something that has been achieved through the Vibast Community Centre since more people can be reached this way.

A lot of the beneficiaries are older people who do work together as well as with families of the charity, since the programme’s idea is for old and young to collaborate and benefit from each other’s company.

A big beneficiary group is young mums (a lot of them as young as 16 years old) who do not feel like they benefit from whatever is on offer out there, hence the gap that the charity is filling in. Young mums of 25 to 30 years old especially need a lot of help. A creative outcome some of those mums have found is creating a podcast with the title ”Throwing Glitter”, meaning that there is no need to sugarcoat the tough or bad things. The mums come together and make a piece of work other parents can relate to, enjoy and possibly even receive advice from.

Projects

Exhibition at Barbican Library

All Change Arts is working on an exhibition that will take place at the Barbican Library, in which some younger and older families will be taking part.

Similar creative activities are prepared for other local libraries so that a bigger number of people can benefit.

Another project currently underway is that the charity’s older beneficiaries will be a collaboration with the Almeida Theatre, where the beneficiaries will have the opportunity to go on stage during the play’s performance. Performances begin in August.

Creative Workshops for Older and Younger beneficiaries

Groups of women who have worked with older beneficiaries and the charity’s families are collaborating on creative workshops. Around 60 women attend these sessions every Saturday.  The goal is to find hope. joy, optimism and be stronger going about their daily lives.

One of the mums that attend those workshops said how being part of the project brought focus on herself and what she is interested in, whilst another mentioned how important it is to feel visible, feel valuable by people, and people valuing motherhood.

Local mums’ network

Network of other local mums. Through the arts, there is a developing sense of belonging, becoming friends with local people, and enriching their lives.

 Animation project

In other projects, there is a poet named Cecilia who is working alongside the beneficiaries and as well an animation artist who works with the group with I-pads, plasters, and animation with children. This exhibition will be ready to be viewed later in the year.

Other comments/upcoming projects

What is lovely is that a lot of the mums that were using the charity’s services whilst their children were young are still visiting the charity and keep in touch. That is something that has been proven very helpful for the mums going through the process at the moment, as they see first-hand how things do get easier with time.

It is hoped that there will be a celebration in the future with former and current beneficiaries the charity has helped.

In further news, some other spaces that the exhibition works will be featured in will be LB Islington’s Access Hubs and a local councillor is hoping to showcase the artworks in another place, soon to be confirmed.

Regarding their older beneficiaries, some of them will be publishing an anthology of their poetry work in early October. Their poetry themes revolve around the pandemic, Windrush and death. The most probable release date is the 5th of October and all their work will be combined in a book.

All the above projects will include paid jobs for local people.

Needs to be noted that the charity is a part-time LLW charity. Some of the mums helped by All Change Arts, are now employed by the charity. The fact that the charity pays LLW helps them feel more valued and builds their confidence.