Inside Stories – Creative Courses to improve wellbeing

Inside Stories – Creative Courses to improve wellbeing

Our creative wellbeing courses are designed to help adults find ways of managing stress and improving mental-wellbeing. In a supportive group setting, you’ll learn to express your feelings and thoughts through music, singing and creative writing.

The courses are delivered in partnership with the Recovery and Wellbeing Academy

Check out our new video below and find out how our 2024 course participants benefited from our courses.


Singing for wellbeing

Singing for Well-Being is suitable for people looking to find coping strategies and improve mental well-being.

Tuesdays 7pm to 8.15pm online via Zoom

21 January, 25 February, 28 March, 29 April 2025

Led by experienced choir leader Claire Fowler. These small group sessions will help to boost your mood as you sing to familiar songs together. This choir is suitable for beginners and you don’t need to be a brilliant singer just the willingness to have a go!

There is lots of evidence that singing together can help with low mood, anxiety and depression.

What you can expect to learn:

  • Gain a better understanding of how singing can benefit your well-being.
  • Feel more confident about singing in a group and learn breathing and singing techniques to help you.
  • Meet new people and have peer to peer support.

Singing for wellbeing is aimed at adults across Warwickshire & Coventry looking to find creative coping strategies that can improve mental wellbeing.

BOOK NOW

For further information email Beth info@artsuplift.co.uk or call Beth on 01926 504 212

Supported by the National Lottery Community Fund

Claire Fowler

Singing for wellbeing tutor Claire Fowler

 

Creative Writing for Wellbeing

Join our FREE online adult creative writing workshops led by Tristan Jackson-Pate. Discover your voice, craft compelling stories, and connect with others in a supportive community. Open to Coventry and Warwickshire residents who are looking to find coping strategies and improve mental well-being.

Mondays 7-8.30pm online via Zoom

Course 1: (Via Zoom) 13 January, 3 February, 3 March, 28 April, 19 May, 16 June, 14 July, 11 August 2025

Course 2: September 22, 29, October 6,13,20, November 3,10,17,24, December 1

This creative writing group, led by writer and theatre maker Tristan Jackson-Pate alongside an Arts Uplift volunteer will focus on the ways we craft stories, in a relaxed online group setting. Participants can access the exercises in a variety of ways and enjoy the support of the group as they develop their ideas. Though sessions will primarily look at dramatic writing for theatre or film, the exercises and discussions had will be relevant to all forms of storytelling, whether you want to write a novel, or a poetry collection. We will cover:

  • Where stories come from
  • Story structure
  • Character creation
  • Finding the meaning
  • Exploring form
  • Plotting
  • Redrafting

And of course, how not to become blocked in your creativity! The aim is to provide chances to learn, create, and collaborate, in an inclusive, no pressure environment.

What you can expect to learn:

  • A better understanding about how creative writing can benefit your well-being.
  • More confidence about creative writing and different techniques that can be used to improve your well-being
  • Meet new people and have peer to peer support

BOOK NOW

For further information email Beth info@artsuplift.co.uk or call Beth on 01926 504 212

View our students previous work

eBookThe inside stories creative writing group has just released an exciting new eBook featuring a vibrant collection of poems and stories from our course participants, representing a rich diversity of backgrounds and heritages. Download your copy today to experience the captivating power of their words and perspectives.

Inside Stories Anthology – eBook Download now

 

 

Previous creative writing from past courses are HERE 2023 and HERE 2024Logos from funders of Inside Stories - Creative courses for wellbeing


 

Song Writing for Wellbeing  

Discover the power of song writing to enhance your wellbeing. Join experienced musician Martin Riley for these FREE songwriting workshops designed to help adults find creative ways of managing stress and improving mental-wellbeing.

COURSE DETAILS

10 x 1.5 hour sessions Thursdays 7-8.30pm

16, 23, 30 January, 6,13, 27 February, 6,13,20,27 March 2025

The Benn Partnership Centre, Railway Terrace, Rugby, CV21 3H

BOOK NOW

Course Tutor Martin Riley Arts Uplift Volunteer

Course Tutor Martin Riley Arts Uplift Volunteer


Examples of our participants previous work

The Money’s Gone – from Inside Stories 5 (2024)

Inside Stories 4

Good Will to All:

Give Again Today:

Inside Stories – creative courses for wellbeing are delivered in partnership with the Recovery & Wellbeing Academy from March to December 2024.

Inside Stories sessions have been funded by the following organisations:

Song Writing – National Lottery Community Fund and Rugby Benevolent Fund
Singing for Wellbeing – National Lottery Community Fund and Leamington Town Council
Creative Writing – National Lottery Community Fund

Logos from funders of Inside Stories - Creative courses for wellbeing

Singing for Wellbeing at the SYDNI centre, Leamington Spa

Singing for Wellbeing at the SYDNI centre, Leamington Spa

SINGING FOR WELLBEING

Singing for Well-Being is suitable for people looking to find coping strategies and improve mental well-being.

FREE singing workshops led by experienced choir leader Claire Fowler. These small group sessions will help to boost your mood as you sing to familiar songs together. This choir is suitable for beginners and you don’t need to be a brilliant singer just the willingness to have a go!

There is lots of evidence that singing together can help with low mood, anxiety and depression. There will be a chance to socialise afterwards and support each other over refreshments.

Singing for wellbeing is a partnership between the SYDNI Centre and Arts Uplift CIC

What you will learn

  • Gain a better understanding about how singing can benefit your well-being.
  • Feel more confident about singing in a group and learn breathing and singing techniques to help you.
  • To meet new people and have peer to peer support.

Aimed at: ​ Adults across Warwickshire & Coventry looking to find creative coping strategies that can improve mental wellbeing.

When

Fridays January 10 until 2 May 2025

1-2pm FREE

Book

01926 422071 or email bookings@sydni.org

Venue

The SYDNI Centre, Cottage Square, Sydenham, Leamington Spa, CV31 1PT

Funded by SYDNI Centre in Leamington

SYDNI logo

Vote for us in Tesco Stores in Rugby, Stratford-Upon-Avon and Alcester

Vote for us in Tesco Stores in Rugby, Stratford-Upon-Avon and Alcester

We’re excited to announce we are in the customer vote for a Tesco Stronger Starts. It’s a scheme which gives community projects like us grants of up to £1,500. Tesco customers can vote from the start of October in the following Rugby, Stratford-Upon-Avon and Alcester Tesco stores:

Rugby

  • Large Tesco, Leicester Road, CV21 1RG
  • Tesco Express, Murray Road, CV21 1RG
  • Tesco Express, Bilton, CV22 7ND
  • Tesco Express, Helvellyn Way, Brownsover, CV21 1LT

Stratford-Upon-Avon

  • Large Tesco, Birmingham Rd, CV37 0UA
  • Tesco Express, CV37 6AD
  • Tesco Express, Banbury Road, CV37 7HW

Alcester

Tesco Express, Kinwrtn Road,, B49 6AA

Voting opens at the start of October and closes in the middle of January 2025

The Projects

Rugby

Funds will be used to provide Songwriting for Wellbeing workshops in Rugby

Free, uplifting, weekly song-writing courses for adults in Rugby looking to improve their mental wellbeing. The workshops help people connect with others and help people to discover the art of song writing to express feelings.

Alcester

Funds will be used for our Ageing Well Singing sessions

Free interactive weekly singing sessions for older people aged 65 years and above in Alcester in a safe and welcoming environment. Dementia-friendly. No experience necessary.

Voting

Tesco customers can vote by collecting a token when making a purchase from the checkout. Use it to vote for Arts Uplift on the way out of the store.

The project with the highest number of votes across the region will receive £1,500, the second placed project £1,000 and the third placed project £500.

Your votes really count so please support us next time you shop at Tesco!

You can find out more about Tesco Stronger Starts by visiting TESCO STRONGER STARTS 

Thank you

Navigating Margaret: A Unique Approach to Boosting Dementia Awareness

We are thrilled to announce Navigating Margaret 2024 Rehearsed Readings, a summer initiative funded by Arts Council England and the Coventry, Solihull, and Warwickshire Fund. This exciting project will see the development of a brand-new dementia awareness play, Navigating Margaret, ahead of a full-scale tour in Autumn 2025.

A Story of Resilience and Awareness

Navigating Margaret is a powerful and moving theatrical production inspired by real-life experiences. Based on stories gathered from Arts Uplift’s successful Suitcase Stories project, the play delves into the journey of a Worcestershire woman living with Alzheimer’s dementia, exploring its impact on both her and her family.

The story unfolds uniquely, weaving together Margaret’s remarkable past as one of Worcestershire’s first female pilots with her present-day struggles. With a touch of fairy-tale magic, the play uses text, movement, and music to create a captivating blend of realism and abstraction. Four talented actors will bring the story to life, raising crucial awareness about dementia, a condition affecting 1 in 14 adults over 65.

Jenny Davis, Executive Director of Arts Uplift, says, “We are thrilled to be bringing this rehearsed reading of the play to Coventry and Warwickshire after such an overwhelmingly wonderful response to the play last time in Malvern, with an addition this time of some informative dementia awareness training. We are bringing some new actors into the company, which is exciting, and they have a challenge ahead of them playing multiple characters. We look forward to hearing people’s feedback and weaving this into the next stage.”

rehearsal for Navigating Margaret

The four actors in Navigating Margaret

Be Part of the Development Process!

Join Arts Uplift for the Navigating Margaret 2024 Rehearsed Readings taking place at:

  • 11am on 12th July at St Peter’s Apostle Church, Leamington Spa (a BSL performance)
  • 15th July at St Paul’s Church, Foleshill, Coventry
  • 18th July at Griff and Coton Sports & Miners Welfare, Nuneaton

These free rehearsed readings offer a unique opportunity to experience the play in its early stages. Four actors will perform a script-in-hand version with props, costumes, and music. Your feedback is invaluable! Following the reading, there will be a 30-minute session to share your thoughts and help shape the final production.

Deepen Your Understanding with Interactive Training

Following the morning session, Arts Uplift invites you to an optional dementia awareness training workshop from 2.30 to 4.30 pm. This free, two-hour interactive session is inspired by forum theatre practices, where audience participation actively influences the performance. Through excerpts from the show, discussions, and engaging activities, the workshop will provide practical tools and a deeper understanding of Alzheimer’s and dementia care.

The training is perfect for:

  • Carers and loved ones of people living with dementia
  • Care staff
  • Individuals interested in learning more about dementia
  • People with early-stage dementia seeking an interactive learning experience

The rehearsed reading is two hours long with an intermission and feedback session. All venues are fully accessible.

Space for the dementia awareness training is limited to 3 participants per session. To book your spot or inquire about larger group bookings, please contact info@artsuplift.co.uk.

Don’t miss this chance to be part of a vital conversation and witness the development of a powerful new play!

For more information and booking, visit: https://www.artsuplift.co.uk/navigating-margaret-the-tour/

Further Information: please reach out to Jenny at jenny@artsuplift.co.uk or call 07946 585978.

Festive Mosaic Fundraiser

Festive Mosaic Fundraiser

Crafting Christmas Cheer to Support Arts Uplift’s Health and Wellbeing Programmes

Join us for our festive fundraiser in the beautiful setting of Binswood Hall.

Expect a fun evening of craft and socialising. We will be joined by Artist Lucy Bellew from Cotswolds Mosaics to create unique mosaic Christmas tree decorations, choose from trees/angels, stars or coasters. Ticket price includes the opportunity to make two decorations along with welcome drink and nibbles. The bar will also be open with drinks to purchase.

Wednesday 11 December 7-9pm

Binswood Hall, (Adj) Binswood Ave, Leamington Spa, CV32 5SE

£25 per ticket plus booking fee – includes all materials and tools necessary to make two beautiful Christmas tree decorations.

Venue plus FREE tea, coffee and nibbles kindly sponsored by Audley Villages.

BOOK NOW


Cotswolds Mosaics

Lucy Bellew of Cotswold Mosaics works with a selection of glass, china and tiles to create unique and colourful pieces.

Find out more about Cotswold Mosaics


Location

 


Cancellation Policy

We reserve the right to cancel the workshop at short notice should the minimum required attendees not be reached or due to illness of artist. Tickets will be refunded minus the booking fee if we do not reach our minimum attendees or if we cancel due to illness we will rearrange the date and no refund will be made.

Full payment is required on the purchase of a ticket. You may cancel your place up to four weeks prior to the workshop date. A full refund will be offered minus the booking fee.

For further information contact Beth at info@artsuplift.co.uk or phone 01926 504212


How fundraising helps our work

Our fundraisers help to support our work in Coventry, Warwickshire and Worcestershire enhancing the physical and mental wellbeing of people whose lives would benefit from an uplift. We do this by engaging community members with the healing powers of the arts and connection to local heritage. 

If you would like to support our work please visit our donations page Donations

Fundraiser sponsors

sponsor logos

 

Arts Uplift logo

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