An Ipswich charity has secured £10,000, including money from the National Lottery Community Fund, to hold creative workshops.
St Elizabeth Hospice will be running the ‘We Give a Hoot’ programme to give people from marginalised groups the chance to get involved in a series of creative workshops led by experienced artists.
This will form part of the Big Hoot art trail, coming to Ipswich this summer.
The workshops will explore themes of identity and inclusion, while helping participants to develop new skills and grow confidence in their artistic abilities.
They are looking to include people from the LGBTQ+ community, young carers, and young adults who are living with life-limiting illnesses.
This will include those using the hospice’s young adult service ‘Zest’, vulnerable adults with learning disabilities and mental health needs, and the Karibu African Women’s Support Group in Suffolk and their families.
Their creations will help create designs on ‘Little Hoot’ statues which will be displayed at the Suffolk Show, running from May 31 – June 1, before joining the hospice’s main ‘Big Hoot’ art trail in Ipswich.
Jess Prosser, who is Trusts Manager at St Elizabeth Hospice, said: “We are thrilled to receive this generous funding, which will see the facilitation of our ‘We Give a Hoot’ project.”
The funding has been given to them by the National Lottery Community Fund and a local trust.
She continued: “The Big Hoot will be a real community celebration. So, to have the opportunity to develop this project, which will bring all members of the community closer together through art, is something we are very excited about, especially as ‘We Give a Hoot’ will leave a lasting, artistic legacy of the Big Hoot in Ipswich for years to come.”
The Big Hoot will see 50 ornately decorated owl statues placed throughout Ipswich, showcasing the wealth of artistic talent the county has to offer and featuring designs celebrating all things Suffolk. It will take place between June - September.
It follows in the footsteps of previous art trails, ‘Pigs Gone Wild’ in 2016 and ‘Elmer’s Big Parade’ in 2019.
St Elizabeth Hospice will be approaching groups directly to get involved in workshops, and will announce the dates for ‘We Give a Hoot’ nearer the time.
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