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Inside Out Project

Art in the Park

Our ‘Inside Out’ creative wellbeing group in Blaengarw made the most of a nice day by taking their art kits down to the lake to paint and write about what they saw and how they felt being in nature:

“ We take it for granted sometimes living here don’t we…”

“When you sit down and look at it all, and take it in, it makes you feel relaxed…”

“ I haven’t painted since I was about 10! I’m really enjoying it .”

This group meet every Friday at Blaengarw Workmen’s Hall – 11am to 12.30pm and the project combines creativity with mindfulness, nature and social connection.

Supported by the Llynfi Afan Renewable Energy Park Community Benefit Fund and The Baring Foundation.

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‘Future Dreaming’ Animation Launch

Future Dreaming

This beautiful animated film was created during the COVID-19 pandemic in our ‘Capturing Moments’ online (and community) Creativity for Wellbeing project. This project celebrated the creativity of women living in the Bridgend Borough and explored issues around isolation, connection, life, relationships, good times and hard times, and the things that were important to the women involved.

Using original artwork and creative writing from the group, animator Jane Hubbard created this short film with specially composed music by group member Andrea Rees. The project was funded by the Mental Health Covid Response Fund.

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‘Capturing Moments’ Exhibition Film

An online exhibition celebrating the creativity of women in Bridgend Borough, South Wales, supported by the Mental Health Covid Response Fund. The women worked with Breathe Creative online once a week to capture, through writing and art, their shared Lockdown experiences. These moments have been full of laughter, support and togetherness. They have illustrated how sharing creativity can strengthen us during difficult times.

Another creation by this wonderful group is ‘Future Dreaming’, an animation using original artwork and creative writing from the group, produced by Animator Jane Hubbard with specially composed music by Capturing Moments member Andrea Rees. This will be launched online in July 2021.

Our artists have been so amazing and prolific. We will finally be having an ‘in person’ exhibition of the latest art, creative writing and digital stories that have been produced as part of this project. The exhibition will take place in September 2021.

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‘Beyond the Label’ Mental health project final report

Lockdown Map 2020
Lockdown Life 2020

In 2020 we partnered with Ty Canna Mental Health Outreach service in Cardiff, a Cardiff-based citywide recovery-focussed Outreach service for people with mental health needs.

Over a period of three months, from May to July 2020, service users met weekly online to create artwork and writing for an animation that reflects their lived experiences of mental health conditions.

The extra challenges of lockdown meant that collaborators weren’t able to meet in person, but this was overcome to produce this rich and wonderful collection of work, a selection of which was used by Jane Hubbard to create the animation.

As well as this, contributors worked with composer and sound artist John Rea to create individual sound pieces of themselves reciting their poetry, sometimes singing and playing instruments.

Check out our full final report on this fantastic project which was funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.