Our lovely Sam is a fantastic social prescribing delivering artist and has been running two important groups for the past few years. Here she is in her different hats discussing the groups.
Walk and Draw
Walk and Draw is an opportunity for people who have migrated to Dudley to meet new friends and make connections.
On arriving at the entrance to Priory Park, directly in front of Gather Cafe, an eclectic and magical group meet every Tuesday morning. The group is simply entitled Walk & Draw and its ethos is to invite people who have migrated to Dudley from around the globe and encourage them to walk a few laps around the park’s beautiful surroundings, to stop and pick a new spot each week, to take notice of the beauty all around them and capture something, using a range of varied art forms.
These art forms range from stencilling to collage to watercolour painting and many others in-between. The simplicity is the groups beauty, we ask nothing more than for people to walk & draw and the magic that happens in the other moments is unplanned and inspiring. There is always a ‘posh’ coffee from Gather Café to be enjoyed as the group chat, draw and share stories. Often in the moment of silence, you can hear birdsong or the laughter and chatter from the parks many visitors.
For many of the group’s participants, who have migrated to Dudley from around the globe, isolation and loneliness is unfortunately all too common and so the opportunity to meet new friends and make vital connections is so hugely important.
For some, English is not their first language and so being given a forum to chat and learn unfamiliar words, phrases and develop their English-speaking skills is much needed and so appreciated.
Still Lively
Developed for the over-55s, Still Lively is a weekly art session focusing on drawing led by artist Sam Hale.
Still Lively offers an opportunity for older people to form a meaningful and significant connection to cultural spaces, art and people through working with galleries and collections. At the heart of Still Lively is the belief that older people have stories, experiences and ideas that art and creativity can offer a visual platform for, with galleries providing a public space to share, engage and inspire older people.