‘It means something to them’: Local arts project for refugees appeals for donations to save it from closure

Volunteers and students recently spent a day painting at London Zoo. Image: Akwaaba / Twitter

A volunteer arts project for refugees and homeless people is appealing to the public to help it stay open.

Creative Art Space, which is run through local charity Akwaaba, provides arts and crafts classes alongside mental health support, but needs to raise £6,000 to keep going.

The sessions in Hackney and Kilburn are entirely run by volunteers and help alleviate loneliness for participants.

The lead teacher, who didn’t want to be named, said: “The art classes are for wellbeing. This is because of housing situations affecting their mental health so these classes help them feel safe, not isolated and part of the community. They feel really happy.

“There are some people who draw really fantastic stuff. The other people who don’t know how to draw learn from them, which is amazing.”

Some visitors said the classes inspired them to keep and take home their art for the first time.

The teacher said: “They said it is because they feel connected to the group. We make stories around the art too. It means something to them.”

The collaboration with London Zoo was one of many organised by Creative Art Space. Image: Akwaaba / Twitter

The workshops see people explore the arts with recycled materials, sewing, pottery, storytelling and more.

Akwaaba supports 100 visitors a week by offering food and advice, help with Home Office forms, and providing day care for children.

It makes good use of its volunteers’ skills, with hairdressers and English language teachers on hand too.

The charity is funded through grants but the cost-of-living crisis has made applications so competitive that its funding has been cut in half.

Akwaaba also pays for travel for people who cannot afford to fare for a visit, and donations will also help these kinds of subsidies.

Creative Art Space is putting on an exhibition in June at Stoke Newington School, with proceeds from a raffle going towards supplies and pay for the artists.

The project has also collaborated with other arts centres and organisations. These include London Zoo, where participants recently spent a day learning how to paint wildlife, with impressive results.

As well as hoping to reach its £6,000 target, Akwaaba is looking to hire many more volunteers, in particular to open a library space and support children with autism.

You can find the fundraiser here.