Art workshops to bring Croydon people together

Pic: Dylan Ferrier

An art centre in Croydon is offering free online workshops through February and March to bring people in Croydon together during the pandemic. 

Stanley Arts centre says its creative online programmes are suitable for all ages. The workshops are a part of the Stanley Arts’s Connecting Communities project. 

The person running these workshops, Sharon Kanolik, believes that getting creative not only brings communities together but also gives the people involved a positive outlet.

Kanolik told Eastlondonlines: “We have a range of different programmes ranging from still life art to creative writing and are looking for members of the community to get involved from all walks of life.”  

With workshops ranging from a group of young people producing a piece of media for shielding elderly residents to creative writing for first time parents, there is something for everyone.

Lockdown can be a time of great emotional and mental strife and Kanolik sees these workshops as a way of enabling people’s well-being.

She said: “Getting creative really helps. People can get bogged down in day-to-day life and creativity takes you out of that.”One of the positives from last year are communities supporting each other.

‘Communities come together’

Discussing how the current lockdown has affected her work, Kanolik said: “It allows more people to access these programmes as they do not have to travel and can access them from home.”

She was overjoyed with how much communities have come together since the pandemic and hopes this is something that will continue even when normality returns. 

The arts centre has also collaborated with various other artists in the area such as Hip-hop dance group Birdgang Ltd, local artist Claire Haward and the Poet Laureate for Croydon Shaniqua Benjamin.

Benjamin has been involved with the SoNo storytelling project to aid and inspire members taking part to construct a piece of creative writing. Benjamin said: “I love having the opportunity to work with others to help them generate pieces of creative writing and develop their skills, so this is an awesome project to be involved with.” She has already conducted a session and is keen to get to know her group more and see their stories come to life. 

If you want to get creative and join one of the many amazing workshops available click the link and sign up. 

Leave a Reply