Stories
I know the smell of the parched earth when it drinks the first raindrops. The many years in diaspora haven't eroded the smell of African petrichor from my memory. I am distinctively African with a deep love for my African heritage . Therefore, it was a great pleasure and privilege to have been com...
Hello! Welcome to my first ever latch hook rug film doc. I began this at the start 2020 before the pandemic struck the world...little did I know it was going to be my entertainment for the next year or so along side other projects and teaching EFL.
As a pagan artist, working with materials that the natural world provides in forms of paintings, illustrations, mixed media and installation, my work aims to strengthen the connection we all have to the natural world.
The project to knit replicas of iconic buildings in Warrington was under way before the pandemic. Lymm Cross, a much loved ancient monument, was an obvious subject, but not an easy one. I thought about doing it a few times, but it just seemed too hard, too time consuming. Suddenly, I had time to f...
Living in a village, far from families and old friends, opportunities to attend events in person, and to exchange experiences with like minded people are limited anyway, but with lockdowns, even visits to friends and family were impossible, and of course all cultural venues were closed. The internet...
Cambridge community arts changed all their face to face art classes to zoom classes during the pandemic. While we were isolated we could still connect with our tutors and other classmates online which helped me keep my sanity.
I have been making art since I was little. When I was doing my art A-level I spent every weekend drawing and painting, making my house smell of oil paint to the dislike of my family. When I finished creating art as part of my education, I realised that a lot of my motivation to create was spurred on...
At the start of the first lockdown in March 2020 Ilkley Manor House Trust felt that it would be important to try to capture some of the memories and experiences of local people at an important moment in the community’s social history. The resulting images have been sewn, painted, printed, embro...
After 14 months Artlink West Yorkshire's Creative Toolkits project is coming to an end. During the pandemic they have delivered over 4,800 art packs, 72 Zoom meetings and 144 ‘How To’ films to over 200 adults with learning disabilities and older people living in residential care, including peop...
Does everyone place a value on culture and if so, do they value it in the same way? And do people get the opportunity to engage in what they value most? Join our project to share your experiences and help us understand and reshape what cultural value looks like.
The Centre for Cultural Value is a national research centre based at the University of Leeds. We are building a shared understanding of the differences that arts, culture, heritage and screen make to people’s lives and to society. Our core partners are The Audience Agency, The University of Liv...
When the world feels like its ending it's only natural and indeed prudent to learn how to effectively pickle things for future meals
I'm a big fan of board games, but could online board games ever come close to the real thing?
I loved making things as a child. Hours endlessly spent drawing, painting or sewing gifts for friends or family. but at some point I stopped. I have no idea whether it was an abrupt end, or whether there was a creeping output reduction as the enthusiasm and confidence of childhood flowed seemlessly...
Here we tell the story of Leeds Playhouse's 2021 "Reasons to be Hopeful" project which Leeds Arts Health and Wellbeing Network has partnered on through raising awareness, sharing opportunities and disseminating learning. REASONS TO BE HOPEFUL was an intergenerational project by Leeds Playhouse t...
Valuing Culture is a free, welcoming space for individuals to come together to share stories of their cultural and creative experiences during the pandemic. It has been developed by the Centre for Cultural Value as part of a national research project exploring the impacts of Covid-19 on the UK cultu...
This case study was written by Gareth Dakin, storytelling volunteer at Leeds Arts Health and Wellbeing Network after originally being requested by the Culture Health and Wellbeing Alliance. We tell the story of 'Man About Town' - an ongoing project, created by Jonathan Parker of Creative Frame CIC,...
Just wanted to share an anecdote from our experiences at Chapeltown Community Nursery. We have long used professional photography companies to take pictures of our children but received feedback that families were not keen on these images. At times children looked unnatural, stiff and uncomfortable...
From the earliest days of the pandemic, our street came together to support each other and from there grew connection and creativity
Freshly unemployed and back in the bedroom where I'd spent most of my teenage years, I saw an opportunity. I armed myself with a months free trial of LinkedIn Learning and got busy teaching myself something I'd always wanted to do - the Adobe suite.
As like so many others, a puppy joined our household during the pandemic. With a puppy who wouldn’t walk very far to begin with, I started to notice more within my local neighbourhood because I had more time to look at my surroundings. On one walk I discovered a poem attached to some railings.
The Covid vaccine is not the only needle that has injected some hope into my life over the last year. Denied the access to my usual stress outlet of clubbing, I've unexpectedly discovered real joy and healing power in needle crafting.