Queens Cross Housing Association helps make art accessible to all
A new at-home creative programme developed by Glasgow Sculpture Studios (GSS) and Queens Cross Housing Association (QCHA) is making art accessible for all during lockdown.
Sculpture Club at Home is a pilot project developed by GSS to find ways to keep making, sharing, and connecting while they are unable to run their usual weekly sessions at their home in The Whisky Bond and at Woodside Library.
Early last year, GSS started working in close partnership with fellow Glasgow Canal Co-op member Queens Cross Housing Association to develop ways of making their work as accessible as possible to children and families in the local area.
To continue reaching people during lockdown, the organisations came up with the idea to distribute worksheets and material packs to families receiving weekly food deliveries from QCHA and to let anyone take part digitally as well.
Led by experienced professional artists from Glasgow Sculpture Studios, each session is always unique and a great introduction to new ways of thinking and making – and anyone can take part online.
Kirsty Hendry, learning and engagement manager at the Glasgow Sculpture Studios, said: “Sculpture Club sessions give children and their grown-ups the chance to spend time together, try new things, get creative, and stay connected.
“We were really conscious of the fact that not everyone in our local community would have reliable access to internet, computers, and smartphones, so we wanted to make sure our approach still prioritised folks in our local area, while also staying connected with our Sculpture Club regulars and engaging new people who want to take part online.
“This way of working is a bit of an experiment for both organisations so we’re excited to use the feedback from this project to learn how we can take this idea forward and hopefully extend it to other families and other partners who are doing vital work in North West Glasgow.”
Every Tuesday, a new activity will be posted at www.glasgowsculpturestudios.org/sculpture-club-at-home.
Glasgow Sculpture Studios and Queens Cross Housing Association are encouraging people to share their artwork on the Sculpture Club Facebook Page, using the hashtag #sculptureclubathome, or by emailing kirsty@glasgowsculpturestudios.org.
Both organisations are part of the Glasgow Canal Co-op - a collective of organisations based along the banks of Glasgow’s Forth & Clyde Canal working together to unlock the canal’s potential to create a vibrant neighbourhood for people to live, work and visit.