Channeling your creative side has long been understood to help reduce stress and anxiety, manage behaviours and increase self esteem – as well as being a great way to brighten up the same four walls we have all been staring at for what feels like forever! Not all art projects require a lot of equipment though – even paper and pencil can get you started – so if you find yourself stuck inside and are looking for a low intensity activity to keep you spirits up, try one of our suggestions below to help get you started:  

  • Stuck at Home (Together) from the Foundation of Art and Healing is a fantastic online resource for anyone feeling alone during social isolation. Their goal is to offer a wide range of opportunities for engaging in creative expression, plus sharing and connecting with others. There is interesting art to look at and think about in their Artist Spotlight area, as well as creative ideas with their Creativity Challenges pages.  There are also short films, writing and playlists to listen to as well as the chance to investigate. If you subscribe, they will contact you when new creative challenges are uploaded as well as contact you with top tips and ideas.  https://artandhealing.org/ 
  • Paperbirds offer wonderful art courses for children in London, which are now taking place online. However they also offer some really great free tutorials on their Facebook page, Paperbirds – Art At Home which anyone can follow. Simply ask to join their FB group and pick which project you fancy trying. If you have grandchildren it might be lovely to join them in a video chat and create your masterpieces ‘together’ and compare your results! https://www.facebook.com/groups/249446306075079/ Fishpond Painting, Kandinsky Flower Challenge, Tape Resist and even Doughnuts – there is definitely a fun and simple art challenge for people of all abilities.  
  • If you can’t put pen or pencil to paper but still fancy unleashing your creative side – why not try becoming the art? The Getty Museum has issued a challenge for people to recreate their favourite artwork using things or people from their home. https://twitter.com/GettyMuseum/status/1242845952974544896  Again, a brilliant idea to challenge other friends and family with, to make it even more enjoyable – there have been some excellent responses already with people of all ages getting involved. If you are looking for some inspiration to get you started, browse through the fantastic recreations on their instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/gettyartchallenge/