Bid One - Open Door Art Group

The project aims to offer a much-needed activity for residents of Southey who have learning disabilities, as currently there is no local activity available for them to attend. The Open Door Art Project will provide a safe welcoming space and will be delivered by Sara Beavan-Widdowson, a freelance artist who worked with Ignite Imaginations. Sara will organise each class, bringing along all the materials and supplies needed to deliver a variety of engaging and inclusive sessions. Some of the activities may include pencil/painting art, flower arranging, jewellery making, cards, candles, and printing. The sessions will be delivered in our Community Centre and run for 2 hours monthly. There is great evidence that arts and crafts projects can benefit individuals, especially those with learning disabilities and we know that people with high support needs are often denied access to community activities. Much more needs to be done to help include them, and this art project will play a key role in this.  

Art often provides an opportunity to work in groups and encourages the development of useful social skills, such as taking turns, listening to others, eye contact and other forms of interaction. These skills form the basis of valuable and meaningful relationships, as statistics show that over half of disabled people reported feeling lonely, rising to over three-quarters (77%) for those aged 18-34 (Census 2017). As studies show, loneliness is associated with physical and mental health problems and poorer quality of life; so by participating in our sessions, we hope those attending will forge new friendships, help reduce social isolation, loneliness and enable them to reach their potential. 

 The people who will be attending are from the local area of Parson Cross and the Southey Ward and will come along with a carer for additional support. They can attend as often as they wish, and new people will always be welcomed into the group. Whilst our benchmark for attendance will be 10-12, we believe that as the project continues to develop, the actual number attending will be 18-20 with carers.