New sponsorship of Arts For Impact

Thursday 25 February 2021

The health and wellbeing benefits of art are being championed by PraxisIFM with its new sponsorship of Arts for Impact.

Arts for Impact, a Guernsey based charity, is leading a new initiative called InShape - feeling better through art, a community group that aims to make societal impact through creativity.

PraxisIFM’s funding will support the initiative, which enables members of the community to access and participate in rewarding artistic activity and meet like-minded individuals. The sponsorship will help cover the costs of the professional artists that deliver the sessions, art materials and room hire.

InShape is part of a wider movement towards making important lifestyle changes via social prescribing, which helps individuals address social, practical and emotional needs as part of an overall treatment by connecting them with local support groups and other community services. Sessions are offered in eight-week blocks, where groups of up to 18 can learn and develop their art skills. It is the charity’s aim that up to 100 people each year will benefit from the initiative.

Helen Bonner-Morgan, Engagement Director at Arts for Impact, said: "The benefit of art interventions, such as InShape, to a person’s wellbeing is well documented. Research has found that participants had decreases in GP visits and hospital admissions and reported a decrease in both depression and anxiety.

"We have the wonderful pleasure of witnessing first-hand how InShape can bring joy, meaning and connection to our member’s lives, and how that impact is felt like a ripple effect to those around the participant too. We’re incredibly grateful that PraxisIFM’s support enables us deliver and expand our group offering, giving us the means and confidence to reach more people in the community."

Rob Fearis, Chief Executive Officer of PraxisIFM, said: "The communities we work within sit at the heart of our business and supporting Arts for Impact is a wonderful opportunity for us to make a positive impact for people in Guernsey.

"Throughout this past year, we have come to acknowledge and appreciate, all too well, the value of connecting with others and the negative effect loneliness can have on a person. Groups like InShape provide such an important opportunity for people to socialise through a shared activity. Art is not only something that everyone is capable of, but it also has a very levelling and therapeutic effect.’

For anyone interested in joining the Inshape sessions, please contact Helen at helenbmafi@gmail.com. Sessions will commence as soon as lockdown restrictions and States guidance permits.