ARTY - FOLKS

Who we are

Arty-Folks is an arts and mental health Charity supporting adults of working age across Coventry and Warwickshire. Arty-Folks exists to inspire people recovering from mental health problems to realise their full potential and lead fulfilling lives through the visual arts.

Vision

We are working towards a world that understands creativity is not just a ‘nice to have’ but is the foundation of good mental health.

The visual arts especially have an amazing ability to bring people together, enabling us to find strength in ourselves and each other, and create a genuine sense of belonging with profound impact on our sense of wellbeing and purpose in life.

Mission

Mental stress is a normal reaction to distressing life situations.
We reach out to people trapped in mental ill health and we empower them to turn their stories and messages into compelling works of art that challenge established thinking patterns, transform lives and create social change.

We bring people together to share life experiences and reclaim a sense of ‘norm’ and through the creative process strengthen identity and control over their lives and futures.

Our culture and values

We walk alongside people

·We are a member-led organisation, there is no ‘them’.  We seek to amplify voices, inspire change, and learn from each other.

We listen to people and empower them

·We seek to empower people rather than creating dependency on statutory services or on us.  We support people to find and build lasting networks in the community.

·We are interested in what is going on people’s hearts and minds

We are creative and express ourselves

·Art is a tool for creative expression that can help us understand that past hurts cannot be undone, but that we can learn to walk in our own shoes with confidence

·We love what we do and we want to communicate this with creative flair.

We are open, welcoming, accepting and a team

·We recognise and respect diversity while treating all people equally.

·We make every environment an enjoyable place to be and everything we do is grounded in working together as a team.