Impact Arts Creative Café Showcase 2020 welcomes you to take a wander on their Art Trail.

Set within the Inch Park area, and covering four separate venues, the participants in Creative Café are exhibiting the artwork they have created before, during and after the lockdown period.

Delivered by artists Megan Hatcher and Sean Casey, sessions are designed to inspire, encourage and support members to develop new skills, experiment, play and, most importantly have fun!

Accompanied with cups of tea, coffee, biscuits and the obligatory bit of blether the members can choose to undertake individual projects using whichever media they prefer, or they can take part in group-based and collective projects.

Artworks are then displayed in an exhibition for friends, family and members of the public to visit.  However, with current coronavirus concerns and restrictions in place, the members decided to create a safe, socially-distanced showcase, to share a snapshot of the work they have created with their community.

There are various art forms, and a selected collection of artworks have been created during their time attending the weekly Thursday & Friday Creative Café sessions at Inch Park Community Sport Centre, and the recent ‘Message to a Member’, postcard project. The postcard project began during the lockdown and so far over 42 postcards have been produced, posted and cherished by members within the group.

Using windows as gallery walls members have been able to create a community gallery ready and waiting for you to explore.

From now until 4 December you are invited to view and explore the artworks created at:

  • Inch Park Community Sports Centre – Function room Windows and Toots Café will be taken over with an abundance of images and craft items. 
  • Inch House – An installation of eyes will be on display at the front of the building, after members took inspiration from their shared feelings of ‘only being able to look out of the window and watch the world go by, over the last few months’. Other artwork will also be displayed at the side of the building
  • Inch View Care Home – Inspired by Art Packs created and distributed during lockdown by Creative Lead Tutor Megan Hatcher, members of the care home have also been invited to share and display their own artworks
  • Braidburn Court – A number of members live at Braidburn Court where the windows will home a number of enlarged versions of the postcard artwork shared between members during lockdown, along with other artworks and drawings. 
  • Inch Park – It’s worth keeping your eyes peeled for yet more ‘guerilla’ style artworks in and around the park

Craft Café is a creative solution to improving health, reducing isolation and supporting independent living for longer. Targeting those aged 60+, Craft Café offers participants a safe, stimulating, social and creative environment where they can learn new skills, renew social networks and reconnect with their communities.

As a result, participants say they have greater confidence, self-esteem, quality of life, and develop positive social networks and they feel more engaged and involved.

This gives people the confidence to see and do things differently and leads to raised expectations, aspiration, and motivation to make important lifestyle changes.

www.impactarts.co.uk  hello@impactarts.co.uk 

Phyllis Stephen
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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.