Create & Connect Project

Funded or low-cost community art workshops or programmes that bring people together through creative expression, providing a space for art to act as a bridge between different experiences, backgrounds, and needs.

How we deliver

Create and Connect is how we bring art for wellbeing to people who might not otherwise have access to it. Each year, we seek grants and partner support to provide free or low-cost workshops and 6-week programmes throughout Greater Manchester. Funding allows us to meet people where they are and keep sessions welcoming and practical. We prioritise calm, confidence, and connection, and we collaborate with partners to ensure the offer is appropriate for each setting. When projects are completed, we provide feedback and next-step ideas so that the benefits can continue.

Emotion Ocean: a gentle 6-week art programme with children

We created this programme to help children make sense of their feelings using a simple metaphor: emotions are like waves that rise, peak, and pass. We structure the sessions around art therapy ideas and gentle psychoeducation, but everything takes place through playful art making. Children observe how waves begin, swell, and settle using sensory materials and joyful art making, and then experiment with calm ways to ride them. We draw on art therapy ideas to allow for play, choice, and reflection. Each week, the theme of the ocean is repeated, making it more familiar and useful. Over the course of six sessions, children learn to express their emotions, develop gentle regulation skills, and gain confidence that they can apply in everyday situations.

Between Masks: mask-making 6-week art programme with teenagers

We’ve built this 6-week programme for Hong Kong teenagers now living in the UK, with the realities of change in mind. Through mask making and gentle art processes, we look at the selves you carry: what you share, what you keep close, and what is still taking shape. We draw on art therapy ideas so masks can give a little breathing space around big feelings and open doors to story, role and symbol. Along the way, we reflect on our values, strengths, and cultural roots, and we practise new ways of relating to this new place. The goal is simple and grounding: more self-understanding, more steadiness, and a kinder, truer sense of who you are.

Our Stories: art for life stories 6-week programme with Hong Kong older adults

We've created this programme for older adults from Hong Kong who now live in the UK. We help memories take shape by combining art with photographs or everyday objects. We use ideas from art therapy to give participants enough space to explore their feelings safely, while having fun with the process. The sessions are friendly and calm, and they are conducted in Cantonese. We have many options, so everyone can find a pace that suits them. We want to value strengths and cultural roots, and how they relate to changes. Everyone is welcome to share what they want to. The goal is to feel seen and connected and to leave with something you can keep or give away.

Vessels of Colour: Creative Wellbeing Workshop

This is a self-funded, one-off creative wellness workshop where we explore colour, shape, and simple collage to create abstract "vessels" that symbolise self-care and explore things that support us. The session is light and expressive, focusing on relaxation, creative play and a sense of connection. Participants do not need any prior art experience, and the practitioner guides them through the process, allowing everyone to engage with the activity at their own pace. We hope to secure funding in the future so that this workshop can be offered to more people in our community at little or no cost.

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