Earlier this month I was fortunate enough to spend the day with an inspiring class of learners taking our ‘Art for Wellbeing’ course in Lincoln. I was eager to meet the group as I had heard a lot about the positive impact the course was having on its learners who also wanted to share their stories.
As I showed up to the class, situated in a community hub, I was warmly greeted by the tutor, Patrick, and the class of around 6-8 people. Everyone stopped mid-paint to introduce themselves and share a little about their lives and how they came to join this class. It was easy to see the strong bonds that had formed, with people cajoling one another and naturally chipping in on one another’s stories as we went around the circle.
When it came time for me to bring out my trusty tripod and camera for recording interviews, I was delighted to see that everyone was willing to be part of the filming. As a course designed around improving wellness, many of the learners had first come to the group from low points in their lives. While the group vary in age, gender and backgrounds, they all praise the community they have formed through the course for helping them through their difficult home lives, emotional lows, social isolation, and economic difficulties. One individual stated that if it wasn't for this course "I wouldn't be here today. It's changed my life and saved me." Another noted how...
Hearing about the journeys they had been on since joining the class was inspiring. One learner expressed how when they first joined, they felt so low they were barely speaking, however have since blossomed, becoming a WEA volunteer, and ‘mum’ to the class. Another has since discovered her love for poetry, crafting personalised poems for everyone in her group: "I'm at around 70 poems now. I want to reach 100 and celebrate, make it into a book and do illustrations at the bottom of each poem". One gentleman shared how joining the course turned his life around. He had suffered through several tragedies in his personal life that resulted in a mental breakdown and a period of time in jail. However, since being let out and joining the class, he has had the chance to recover, discover his passion for art and creativity, and has now been accepted to study art at university.
As a Digital Branding Officer, responsible for promoting WEA’s mission online, a lot of my work involves sitting behind a computer. This can make it easy to forget the real-life impact we have on everyone we teach, but it is stories like these and the people I get to meet on days like this that reinforce to me why what we do is so important. We'll be sharing the individual stories in more depth across our digital channels in the next few weeks so stay tuned!
A huge thank you to everyone who shared their stories with me - it was a pleasure to meet all of you.
If you know of an inspiring class of learners near you that you think would like a WEA visit and would be happy to share their stories, please get in contact with [email protected]. We would love to meet you and hear your stories!
If you are feeling inspired by these stories, why not come along to our free member event, Creativity for Wellbeing on 27th May, 12pm-1pm. Artist and WEA tutor Abbie Cairns is leading the session which will focus on line drawing, so all you need is a pen and paper. Register here.
