Art at the Heart Project 2022
Our Art at the Heart project supported 21 participants over the course of the 13 weeks - all of whom were Ukrainian. Acquisition of English skills was a key theme, and this was developed through a range of weekly art themed activities. Students fed back via video how their English had improved over the course along with the impact on health and well being, confidence and awareness of the local environment. We recruited 11 volunteers to support the programme and one of our existing students joined the group as an interpreter, which was invaluable at the start of the programme.
The final week was a celebration of achievement - an open exhibition of work produced over the programme, and community stalls. This was supported and promoted by the Leeds Ukrainian Centre which raised over £300 at the event. The event was well attended and Leeds Radio (BBC) came along to interview the staff and participants.
The participants brought families and hosts, the artists who had been involved all attended, volunteers came along with friends and family, and we had twelve community stalls attending to help promote the wider Leeds offer. The event was also picked up by the BBC as a good news story and they ran it on the radio and on their website.
We were proud to be able to support the newly arrived Ukrainian refugees and welcome them to Leeds and to Swarthmore.
Thank you to all those who took part in the amazing project!
'An exciting 13-week programme for refugees or individuals for whom English is an additional language. Aimed at building confidence in English language skills through a programme of arts, crafts and visits to local cultural venues'.
