SNAP is passionate about working with
the community and all community groups. We have done creative workshops
with various groups and organisations.
Noah Enterprise is a charity which seeks to help the most disadvantaged in the local community, particularly focussing on providing a practical, empowering and caring service to homeless, marginalised and socially excluded people.
Noah went exploring in our studio back in September 2007. A small group with Ruth Wake, one of Noah’s Outreach Workers came along and with the help of one of our artists, produced an exotic tropical rainforest, painting weird and wonderful scenery for them to explore. They were inspired by their time at SNAP, and set up their own small weekly art workshop at their day centre, which has proven to be very successful and they hope to work with SNAP again in the future.
In November 2007 SNAP visited Generation Parents at the Welbeck Centre. Generation Parents is a parent and baby group run by the YMCA, they meet every Thursday at the centre in High Town. It is a social and supportive group to young parents and their babies, they regularly have cooking and nutrition workshops as well as various activities such as the art afternoon they had with SNAP.
One of our artists went along with a bits and bobs art bag which was full of paint, glitter and various exciting things, the parents and children created photo frames, these frames went with their very own photography artwork produced by SNAP. The afternoon was full of fun and madness, the parents as well as the kids expressed their artistic flare and everyone went home full of glitter and glue! It proved to be a very successful workshop, the parents commented on how good it was to get involved in something creative with their kids. Generation Parents have since requested SNAP runs another workshop with them; we hope to work with them in the near future.
Also in November The African and Caribbean Arena held a bullying workshop event at Putteridge Leisure Centre. Over 300 students from Luton High Schools attended the event where they discussed various types of bullying. Snap was involved in delivering four workshops. Two of our project workers lead four groups of students in exploring the emotional and social effects of bullying and engaged the young people in a discussion about equality and acceptance.
The New Year saw new projects, January was kicked off with a workshop with the Welbeck Youth Club. They created an art piece with a sexual health message for a Valentines Day card design. SNAP’s project workers delivered a sexual health workshop which informed the young people about contraception and safe sex, STIs, relationships, self respect and informed choice. This also helped the young people brainstorm ideas for the artwork, and with the help of SNAP artists they produced a masterpiece!
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SNAP was on back on the road in February, First stop was Lewsey Farm to visit the Balistic Zone’s Café Project. SNAP brought along its mobile studio kit and created a backdrop with some of the regulars of the project. We would like to do more intensive work with this group.
Further up the road we visited Barnfield Youth Club. This was a very fast paced and mad couple of sessions with the youth club attendance between 40 and 50, the painted backdrop was created by the young people taking turns on a total of four walls to paint and draw their favourite cartoon characters, footballers, football teams and much more.
The second session saw the same process exploring an anti gun and knife crime message, this being an issue the young people felt was very real to them. The participants said they enjoyed the sessions and were impressed with the finished artwork. SNAP is looking forward to working with them again! They now have two magnificent framed A1 pictures for their display.
