CoolTan are running a new series of FREE 12 week  workshops from the 2nd September 2014. Workshops are open to all people 18+ with experience of mental distress who are currently unemployed and are not receiving a personal budget.

Come along, gain new skills, meet new people and explore your creative side. Friendly and relaxed environment, with small groups and professional tutors.

**Exciting new programme, book your place now**  Call 020 7701 2696 or email olivia@cooltanarts.org.uk

Workshop Dates

Art – Tuesdays 11-1pm – Start 2nd September. Empower yourself through creativity with our unique art workshop. Experiment with different themes and styles, and  explore various art techniques, such as acrylic, watercolours, charcoal etc. Meet like minded people in this small friendly group with a professional and supportive tutor. Suitable for all levels. Embrace the opportunity to exhibit in CoolTan and beyond!

Film – Tuesdays 11-1pm – Start 2nd September. Learn how to do your own film-making and editing. Use some of the latest cameras and sound microphones to make your own creative piece of work for internet or DVD. Along the way you will gain a good working knowledge of the Final Cut Pro editing programme. No previous experience necessary except basic I.T skills.

Creative Writing – Wednesdays 11-1pm – Start 3rd September. Explore techniques, find inspiration and learn how structure your writing to make it exciting and engaging. Come along, learn, create and enjoy!

WordPress – Thursdays 1:30-3:30pm – Start 4th September.  Be guided step-by-step through the process of how to create a customised mini website, using WordPress, the popular free blogging platform. We’ll be covering the basics of WordPress installation, how to use the WordPress dashboard, how to create and modify menus, content pages and posts, handling digital media, such as images and videos, as well as exploring the many options available to customise the appearance and design. No previous experience necessary except basic I.T skills.

Photoshop – Thursdays 11-1pm – Start 4th September. Learn how to edit and retouch your photography to a professional standard. Use layers, filters, text and drawing tools to create artistic effects.  Gain the skills to cut out and combine images to create collages, posters and artworks. No previous experience necessary except basic I.T skills.

Location: CoolTan Arts, Third Floor, 224-236 Walworth Road, SE17 1JE.

With thanks to our funders:

 

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It’s a lovely time of year for a stroll! Join the Largactyl Shuffle this July as we explore the delights of Ruskin Park and Myatts Fields.

Our walk leaders will give talks on the way on the fascinating social history of Camberwell’s best loved green spaces. See the greenhouses, beautiful summer blooms, join in fun activities and bring a picnic lunch!

Saturday 19th July
Time: 11.45am – 4pm
Start: Maudsley Hospital, Denmark Hill, SE5 8AZ
Finish: Myatts Fields, Camberwell, SE5 9LP

CoolTan Arts Largactyl Shuffle is a guided, stigma-busting cultural walk, designed to encourage mental health and physical wellbeing through art, exercise, humour and history

Please meet us outside the entrance of Maudsley Hospital from 11.45am to register. The walk leaves at 12pm prompt and will end at approx. 4pm. Please wear comfortable shoes and bring your own water.

Largactyl Shuffle walks are suitable for all levels of walking and are accessible to wheelchair users and people with disabilities.

You can join us for whatever tickles your fancy feet, whether it is half a mile, one mile or the full distance.

The walk leaders wear orange high-viz vests and rucksacks. Call CoolTan Arts on 07985 658443 if you cannot find the walking group on the day.

The walk is free but voluntary donations will be much appreciated www.justgiving.com/cooltanarts        

All welcome!

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Come along to CoolTan Arts on a Friday afternoon to sample the delights of our kitchen!
We are now offering a lunchtime menu of tasty and healthy soups, mains, salads and more.

Feel Good Food Fridays will take place every week between 1pm and 2pm and is open to the public. The price for a plate of food is £3 suggested donation.

You can pop in, get a lunch, look around the gallery exhibition and catch up on all the latest CoolTan news!

Please let us know in advance if you would like to have lunch. Contact Olivia on 020 7701 2696 or email olivia@cooltanarts.org.uk

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Are you interested in the arts and would you like to find out more about CoolTan Arts?

• Are you, or somebody you know, experiencing mental distress?
• Are you looking for activities to help your recovery?
• Do you want to break isolation, meet new people and explore your creativity?

Come along to CoolTan Arts New Referrals Information Session:

Wednesday 16th July 2014, 1-3pm
at CoolTan Arts, Third Floor, 224 – 226 Walworth Road, London SE17 1JE

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Smoothie Showcase will be visiting CoolTan Arts on 17th July for a 30-minute performance of  urban music and spoken word as Smoothie Sound System. The performance will last from 2:30pm to 3:00pm.

Smoothie Showcase is a major new literature and music based project, led by Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (LPT) and partnered by a range of arts, health and educationally based organisations. It is designed to showcase the talents of people with experience of mental health problems, and has a particular focus on young black men.

You can find out more about the project at: www.showcasesmoothie.com

No need to RSVP just turn up in good time for the start. For more info please contact our Administrator Olivia Moyes on 020 7701 2696 or email olivia@cooltanarts.org.uk

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Following the success of last year’s pilot, we are pleased to announce that Issue 1 of CoolFruit, Spring into Summer, is now available.

Click here to read

Packed with artwork, poetry, recipes, artist’s profiles and lively articles to inform, delight and guide you smoothly from Spring into Summer.

Read about exciting CoolTan projects and get the insider’s view with articles by CoolTan participants and volunteers. Learn about the CoolTan Arts Largactyl Shuffle as well as CoolTan’s new Artangel collaboration At the Crossroads with Vincent. Consider the issues around deportation and its effects on mental health. Be informed and demystified about the ESA process and be delighted by a whole selection of articles to take you exploring on a path to mental wellbeing.

We hope you will enjoy reading this issue as much as we have enjoyed creating it!

Happy reading!

To make sure you’re on our mailing list and get a link to future issues as soon as they are available, please contact emmathatcher@cooltanarts.org.uk

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We had a wonderful time at the Mad Hatters Tea Party at CoolTan Arts  on Saturday, 14th June, which was attended by over 40 people and gave everyone the opportunity to have fun, try out new things and enjoy a taster of our work.

There were four free workshops, the presentation of special certificates to our volunteers, and an opportunity to have a private viewing of our new exhibition, Summertime Blues. The theme of the exhibition was ‘anxiety & summer’ and all the artwork was created by CoolTan participants in our creative workshops. The exhibition will be open from 11th June-11th August but this event marked its official opening.

The free workshops that people could  join included Food and Mood, where they made ice lollies with mood enhancing ingredients, Understanding ‘Panic Attacks’,   Postcard Art – ‘A Message 2U’ and Anxious to Get Painting, where participants painted the table and chairs to create a  Mad Hatters’ inspired scene.

The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party was  part of the Anxiety Arts Festival London 2014, which rans throughout June in London venues. The Festival challenges the stigma and discrimination that surround mental health by looking at the creative and productive force of anxiety, and showcases an exciting programme of art, film, performance, music, dance, theatre and talks

Here are some images of the exhibition Summertime Blues

Here are some images from the day

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About 130 walkers gathered for our Summer Solstice Midnight Walk on the 21st June when we enjoyed a moonlit stroll from Tate Modern to Maudsley Hospital, as part of the Anxiety 2014 Festival.

We stopped at the Crossbones Cemetery on Redcross Way, to hear about its history as an unconsecrated burial site; the Borough, for an activity about night working; and the centre of the Elephant and Castle roundabout to create surreal living sculptures, before enjoying some coffee, cake and poetry at CoolTan Arts.

Our final two talks were about psychogeography at Burgess Park and surrealism and mental health at Camberwell Green, before we finished the walk with hot drinks at Maudsley Hospital.

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CoolTan Arts were thrilled to be part of this years Waterloo Festival, participating with a poetry performance and an art exhibition!

CoolTan Poets and Southbank Sinfonia

On Thursday 26th June CoolTan Poets collaborated with Southbank Sinfonia Orchestra on an  amazing hour long performance at St John’s Church Waterloo. Both groups have worked together over the last few months to create this celebration of words and music, looking at the theme of WW1. A video of the performance will be available soon so watch this space!

Here are some images of the day:

World at War: Fragments.

Our art exhibition Fragments was created in response to the music of the Southbank Sinfonia Orchestra and was installed in St John’s Chruch for the duration of the Waterloo Festival (June 26th t0 July 1st). CoolTan artists explored the connection between warfare and mental distress.

 Fragments was a multifaceted portrayal of warfare, using the creative imagination to look at World War 1 and other conflicts.

The artworks gave glimpses into a myriad of worlds and voices, gaining strength in the overcoming of isolation, marginalisation and woundedness and the human spirit’s ability to rise above adversity. All artwork had been made in weekly workshops at CoolTan Arts.

Here are some images of the exhibition:

For more information about the Waterloo Festival please see the website: http://stjohnswaterloo.org/waterloo-festival/

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