Impact Arts

What if you could own
a beautiful scarf, unique in its design and ethically produced, and know your
purchase was helping a charity work to improve the quality of life of older
people with dementia and Alzheimer’s? Well you’re one step closer thanks to a
new pilot programme from Impact Arts with support from Social Investment
Scotland and ASDA.

We’re delighted that
have been selected as one of twelve social enterprises to take part in the Asda
Social Enterprise Supplier Development Academy. This amazing opportunity has
been designed to build the capacity of social enterprises and support them to
get their products on the shelves of one of the world’s leading supermarkets,
Asda.

The Craft Café collection
is an exciting, fashion focused strand of our well established older people’s
programme Craft Café. Young Artists in Residences and Textile Designers are
working with the older people to develop a fashion label. The Artists in Residence works
collaboratively with older people with Dementia and other long term health
issues, in community or care home settings, supporting them to create beautiful
artworks which are then translated into textile designs which are printed onto scarves.

The project is a
social enterprise that has evolved from Impact Arts’ Craft Café programme. The
aim is to push the boundaries of older people/artist collaborations, giving
older people increased quality of life in their later years and raising them in
the esteem of their families and communities.

The main Craft Café programme
provides a much needed service for Scotland’s ageing population. Isolation and loneliness have been identified
as a major factor in poor health and wellbeing prompting Impact Arts to set up
free arts and crafts workshops facilitated by qualified artists. Craft Café:

• Offers older people a safe, social
environment

• Teaches older people new skills

• Reduces isolation and loneliness

• Improves mental and physical health

• Encourages joy in later life

• Celebrates older artists

• Helps people reconnect with family
members suffering from Dementia and Alzheimer’s

After an intensive 4
days at Asda House for the team, where they had to pitch their product to the
experts, the 12 months of support from SIS and ASDA will continue, with the
business plan being refined over the coming months. Stay tuned for updates!