South Tyneside project brings people together through art and enterprise
The Creative Enterprise project, delivered by The Cultural Spring with funding from the National Lottery Awards for All programme, has supported residents to explore their creativity and develop new skills, generating income through their artwork.
A creative project bringing people together across South Tyneside has demonstrated how the arts can tackle social isolation, build community connections and create lasting opportunities for local people.
Delivered by The Cultural Spring with funding from the National Lottery Awards for All programme, the Creative Enterprise project has supported residents to explore their creativity, develop new skills and even turn their artwork into an opportunity to generate income.
Two core community groups were established in Sunderland and South Tyneside, where participants worked with professional artists to develop ceramic-making skills alongside practical enterprise knowledge, including how to price, promote and sell their work.
Artist Lindsey Grieves worked with a newly-created group which started at St Simon’s Church in Simonside before moving to the Perth Green Community Centre in Jarrow when a bigger room was needed.
Meanwhile, pottery tutor and artist Michelle Flynn led an existing ceramics group meeting at the Nidderdale Centre in Hetton-le-Hole.
Emma Biggins, Community Engagement Coordinator at The Cultural Spring, explained: “Lindsey taught her group from scratch, while Michelle’s group was more advanced, so while the South Tyneside group focused more on developing skills, the Sunderland group had time to explore the commercial aspects of pricing artwork to sell and arranging and attending craft fairs.
“Opportunities to generate their own income”
“But both groups have also explored opportunities to generate their own income, helping to make their creative activities sustainable beyond our initial funding. Both groups attended local craft fairs where they sold artwork members had created during workshops.”
In total, the project delivered 49 creative enterprise workshops, 12 introductory taster sessions and also distributed 124 ceramic activity packs to children, families and adults who might otherwise face barriers to taking part in creative activities.
In South Tyneside, the project focused on reaching adults experiencing social isolation, including people who are housebound or face additional barriers to accessing community activities.
A total of 74 ceramic packs were distributed through connections with local housing providers, library home-reading services and churches.
The project also demonstrated a commitment to making creativity accessible to everyone.
Working with RNIB and Grange Road Baptist Church, The Cultural Spring arranged a bespoke ceramic activity pack with Braille instructions for a visually impaired participant experiencing significant isolation.
Claire Finlay, Project Officer for The Cultural Spring, worked on the South Tyneside side of the project.
She explained the impact of craft packs delivered to young participants: “The opportunity to try something new has also made a real difference to young people.
“Following receipt of their ceramic packs, two boys completed their activities on the same day and immediately asked for more.”
The Creative Enterprise project has also created opportunities for participants to experience culture beyond their immediate communities. Four Go & See visits were organised to regional arts centres, festivals and historical sites.
Attendance at four craft fairs generated £1,051 in sales, demonstrating how creative skills can develop into meaningful enterprise opportunities.