Through our Art for Well-Being programming stream, we create accessible opportunities for community members to experience the joy and health benefits of making art with others.
Through the Art for Well-Being programming stream, we are creating accessible free group art making opportunities for residents, prioritizing access for those experiencing, or at greater risk of, social isolation and physical and mental health challenges. Our efforts are inspired by a wide range of evidence demonstrating the important roles of art making and social connectedness in promoting positive mental and physical health. We are passionate about exploring and promoting the transformative potential of the arts to build a healthier, more resilient community. The County Arts Lab, centrally located on the main floor (Unit 2E) of Picton’s Armoury Building, serves as home base for our Art for Well-Being programming.
Art Together is our free drop-in community art-making program! Thanks to the generosity of three local funders, Art Together was run throughout 2024 by an amazing team of both new and returning Artist Facilitators – Gwen Shandroski, Kaya Joan, Frank Hannan, and Lucy Sterezylo – along with the wonderful Sharon Hart, our new Well-Being Support Worker! Stay tuned for updates on Art Together in 2025!
Sincere thanks to Winter 2024 Presenting Sponsor Elizabeth Crombie Real Estate Team, Spring 2024 Presenting Sponsor Sage Design and Construction, and the Huff Family Fund/County Foundation for their generous support of the Art Together program. Together, they have made a full 2024 Art Together program possible – and a multi-year grant from the Huff Family Fund will help us secure the program’s future in 2025 and beyond!
Our Art Together pilot project welcomed 170 participants with nearly 100 unique residents attending our weekly drop-in art-making studio from Fall 2022-Spring 2023. Sincere thanks to our Facilitator team – Gwen Shandroski, Frank Hannan, Stacey Sproule, and Ambivalently Yours, and to the Government of Ontario / Ontario Trillium Foundation for funding the Art Together pilot project through a Resilient Communities grant. Happily, we’ve secured funding to run the program in 2024 – see above for more info!
Art Together Pilot Project
In Fall 2023, we partnered with Hospice Prince Edward to deliver two series of participatory arts workshops – in visual art and drumming – for the individuals and families supported through their Grief and Bereavement services. Thank you to the Wynne Thomas Arts Development Fund through The County Foundation for providing a matching grant to make this initiative possible.
Healing Through Art
The Art for Wellness pilot project ran from March 2022-June 2023, delivering three 9-week series of visual arts workshops prioritizing the participation of residents at higher risk of mental health challenges and/or social isolation. For our first 9-week series, we recruited participants in collaboration with community partners such as Addictions and Mental Health Hastings Prince-Edward and the Prince Edward Learning Centre, also welcoming any adults who felt that their mental health could be supported through this kind of program. For the second and third series we collaborated with the ROC Youth Services and Community Care for Seniors respectively. Artist Facilitators were Kelly Cade, Ambivalently Yours, and Renee Hiltz. Thanks to the support of The Huff Family Fund/The County Foundation participants participated free of charge.
Art for Wellness
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Are you a local community organization interested in partnering with us to deliver this type of programming to the residents you serve? Please reach out to Andrea Dawes, Special Initiatives Manager, at andrea@countyarts.ca with any questions or to learn more.
If you’d like to stay in the loop about new/future Art for Well-Being programs, make sure you join the County Arts Lab Mailing List!
