Celebrating 6 organisations through Community Stories

Over the past year, Severn Arts and Malvern Hills District Council have been documenting the arts organisations and community groups who help support the lives, minds and bodies of local Malvern residents. Covering 6 organisations from across the Malvern Hills District, together we joined these groups with the intention of creating 6 unique stories capturing their value for health and wellbeing alongside the arts.

Elaine Knight, Arts Director, Severn Arts said:
“It’s been fantastic to see how these stories have come to life and the positive impact the collaboration has had on the community members. Together, artists and groups have produced artworks that are both important to them as individuals and best displays their community to others.”

The project was concluded on Wednesday 15 May with an interactive event, where organisers from each of the organisations could come together to share – and celebrate- the work created from their stories.

The six stories showcased were:

Jack’s Place
- a community-based day centre for, older adults, adults with disabilities and adults with mental health difficulties. Together they created an art mural that best represents Jack’s Place, the group and the unique things that are important to them.

Toddler Tales
- providing opportunities for developing early literacy and social skills in the community, set up to reach the preschool demographic. Together they have captured the array of important skills learnt through a collection of photographs.

Mental Health Mates
- a nationwide network of volunteer led, peer support groups that encourage people to get moving and talking about their mental health. Together they have created a film which explains the group whilst highlighting the importance of talking about our mental health with others.

Perfect Circle
- a youth theatre company established in 2006, in response to a number of young people who wanted to work on contemporary plays, devised performances and youth-led drama projects. Together they have created a podcast interview of an individual case study of member Joe, Perfect Circle’s Technician.

Young Poet Laureate
- a competition that is open to any young person across the County who wishes to submit a poem within three age groups – school years 6-8, 9-11 and 12-13. Together they have created a film of Amelie Simon, Young Poet Laureate 23-24.

Dancefit
- a group that provides fun and friendly sessions for over 55s to keep the brain and body active. Together they created a film that tells their story and will hopefully get more people involved.

“Having this short video about our work will really help us spread the word and encourage more people to get involved in dancing.” - Dancefit

This work was funded by Public Health Worcester as part of their wellbeing strategy. It was then facilitated by The Malvern Hills District Community Arts Programme - which aims to strengthen community connections, offer a range of arts activities and provide creative opportunities for all residents of the Malvern Hills District.