Come and Celebrate Your Success!

Help us celebrate a great start to the New Year! You are invited as a current/past participant or volunteer at CoolTan Arts to join us and hear about some great funding news for the organisation.

Come and find out about the exciting new projects that 2012 has to offer. There will be food and drink and a chance to enrol for upcoming workshops, events, walks and fashion shows!

Come and celebrate your achievements!

Come and give us your opinions on the direction of CoolTan Arts!

Feed into the CoolTan Arts Business Plan for 2012 – 2015

what do you want to see more of? What should we do less of? This is your chance to formally feed into the CoolTan Arts Business Plan and strategy for the next 3 years! Come and join other participants, volunteers, staff and Trustees in a discussion hosted by Ian Beever.

For more information, contact jenny@cooltanarts.org.uk.

These 3 workshops are FREE and open to anyone, if you have a Personal Budget or not.

 
Learn new skills and help others learn about the personalisation process.
Don’t know what that is? It doesn’t matter, you can find out as part of the group. Tried to get a personal budget? Great! We’d love to hear from you.

Film making
Fridays 11am – 3pm
Lunch provided
Our group of friendly volunteers are making a creative documentary film about different experiences of trying to get a personal budget, both good and bad. Help organise interviews, learn to use a camera to film, edit the film and plan a documentary.

January 21st 12noon at Maudsley Hospital, walking to South London Gallery
Join CoolTan Arts Largactyl Shuffle, a free guided cultural walk promoting mental health and physical wellbeing using art, humour and history to help de-stigmatise mental distress.

This month’s Fitness Walk begins outside the Maudsley Hospital at 12noon. Instead of the usual talks, each stop on the walk will feature a simple, fun, physical activity to help you gently warm up to wellbeing in the New Year. The walk will end at the South London Gallery, taking in some of Southwark’s green spaces where we will be skipping and running three-legged races.

Express yourself! Learn new skills and make new friends in a safe, supportive atmosphere …

We have two new weekly workshops starting in February:

Women’s Poetry
Thursdays 11am – 1pm
Starting February 2nd
An informal experimental workshop to get you going with that spark you always knew you had. The group will be working towards a publication in 2012. Beginners and published poets welcome.

Women’s IT
Wednesdays 11am – 1pm
Starting February 1st
Learn new computer skills or brush up on old ones. The group will be working on producing an illustrated book. Learn Photoshop, Office Word and Internet skills. Learn at your own pace, learn what you feel comfortable with.

The CoolTan Arts Christmas Party took place on December 20th 2011. It provided an opportunity for participants, volunteers, staff, trustees, family and friends to come together and celebrate the festive season.

The Deputy Mayor of Lambeth, Cllr. Clive Bennett, began proceedings by congratulating CoolTan Arts on its valuable work and listening to the concerns of staff, volunteers and participants.

There was music, dancing and karaoke, along with a wonderful selection of food and drink. Volunteers each received a gift, generously donated by Team London Bridge, and celebrations continued long into the night.

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On Tuesday 6th December 2011 Richard Muzira of CoolTan Arts, our brilliant film maker, won a ‘Local Heroes’award from Bank of America for his volunteer service. CoolTan Arts is very proud of his achievement, not just as a volunteer but his skills asa video maker. This is a brilliant achievement for CoolTan Arts’ unique approach to stigmabusting as we bring Mental Health and Disability to the forefront. Thankyou Bank of America and thankyou Richard, who says …

‘It is refreshing to see a corporation exercising its social responsibility towards the community it operates in.’

Richard chose CoolTan Arts as the charity of his choice to donate his £3000 prize from Bank of America of unrestricted funds – which the organisation greatly needs due to the cuts to the provision of services.

Just a few photos from Asia’s Leaving party at Cooltan Arts.

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CoolTan Arts believes mental wellbeing is enhanced by the power of creativity

PRESS RELEASE

CoolTan Arts Largactyl Shuffle – Jingle Bells Walk

Date: Saturday 17^th December 2011

Starting: Tate Modern, Turbine Hall entrance SE1 9TG

Finishing: Maudsley Hospital

Times: 12noon – 4pm   Cost: free/voluntary donation

Come and join us and make some festive noise!

We will be singing and playing our way through the streets of Southwark, bringing some merry cheer and light as the nights draw in. Your voice and instruments are very welcome!

We are closed on 21^st December and re-open on 4^th January and we will be closed from 12am on Monday 12^th December

If  you need help you can contact the Samaritans 08457 90 90 90

SLAM information Line 0800 731 2864

Mind Info Line 0300 123 3393* (closed Monday 26th December, Tuesday 27th December, Monday 2nd January)

Have a merry Xmas and a happy new year

Recruiting now!

Wednesdays 1.30 – 3.30pm

Learn Computer skills or brush up on old ones. The group will be working on creating a book with illustrations. You can learn Photoshop, Office word, and internet skills. Learn at your own pace, learn what you feel comfortable with.

WOMEN’S POETRY

Thursdays 2.25 – 4.25pm

Come and join this new, fun and friendly class, whether you are a published poet or never scribbled a line, learn to appreciate poetry, and produce your own creative writing in a safe and supportive environment.

Spaces still available on our fantastic free women’s only workshops in Poetry and IT.

CoolTan Arts art exhibiton at Carnegie Library took place 0n the 16th November 2011. There was poetry readings from CoolTan Arts poets and artwork showcasing  mixed media, collage, painting, drawing, sculpture and batik.

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Come to CoolTan’s

Christmas Party

Tuesday 20^th of December

6-10pm at CoolTan

All are welcome so come along and help us celebrate. There will be refreshments, music, karaoke and merriment.

Guests are asked to bring along a plate of food to share and a £1 gift to exchange under the tree.

CoolTan Arts, Unit B. 237 Walworth Road, SE17 1 RL

RSVP suzie@cooltanarts.org.uk   Or: 0207 701 2696

Julius Xavier, singer/songwriter extraordinaire, is exploring the idea of a music and/or spoken voice compilation issued for CoolTan Arts.

If you know you have sound or video recordings from e.g. your own ventures arising from a CoolTan connection, and would like them to be considered, or new and unreleased material (we’ll check the archive here too), please get in touch with Julius via Phil Ruthen at CoolTan Arts. The underlying themes may be civil rights for disabled people, coupled with full-on entertainment!

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Short series of workshops running from Thursday 27th October to Thursday 15th December 2011.

Please contact Phil, Advocacy Training Coordinator, at CoolTan for more information, or to arrange to meet about the Self-advocacy skills training at times outside of the advertised schedules.

Venue: CoolTan Arts unless notified otherwise.  Please dress warmly!            
Thursday 27th October An invitation to find out more, register and a short ‘taster’ workshop
                                    
Wednesday mornings:
2nd / 16th / 30th November   11am – 1pm  An invitation to find out more, register and a short ‘taster’

Thursday afternoons:  Workshops    Start 2pm & finish at approx 4.30pm

• 3rd November: Introduction to Advocacy, and Self-advocacy
• 10th November: Self-confidence – where is it – find it – use it!
• 17th November: Survivor movements’ civil rights and campaign history – how and why we’re here?
• 24th November: Getting ready for Personalisation, and Personal Budgets

With thanks to funders Alan & Babette Trust and LloydsTSB Foundations                                                               

To find out more, look out for us at a Venue near you, or please send us an invite to come to you!

Phone, email or write & ask for: Phil Ruthen, Advocacy Training Coordinator
phil@cooltanarts.org.uk tel: 020 7701 2696  Mobile: 0798 565 8443
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