Calling all Oxfordshire-based primary schools and children’s clubs. A brand-new project for children aged 8-11 has been launched to raise awareness about homelessness in an engaging and creative setting.
Working in partnership with the Oxfordshire Homeless Movement, Amber Hughes and Samantha Hart have developed the Arty Hanns community project to encourage young people to explore some of the issues surrounding homelessness.
Amber has personal experience of supporting her sister Hannah through homelessness and has run the Amber Lights project for the past six years. As part of this project Amber created the Skyline and Pawsome clothing ranges, which support Homeless Oxfordshire in Hannah’s memory.
Samantha is a freelance artist who hosts creative workshops in schools and specialises in greeting cards and bespoke art. She has also trained in therapeutic art and mental health support for young people.
The Arty Hanns workshops will feature ‘Hannah’s Story’, open discussion, and questions about homelessness, as well as encouraging children to express themselves and distil what they’ve learned through creativity. The artwork created as part of the workshops will then be used as packaging designs for toiletry donation boxes, which will be donated to homeless charities and people experiencing homelessness throughout Oxfordshire.
Amber and Samantha first connected in 2017 when Amber organised a community collection for toiletries and clothing to support homeless charities in Oxford. Since then, they have worked together to raise awareness about homelessness across the county.
What began as a chance meeting has grown into a shared commitment of homelessness awareness, leading the pair to create Arty Hanns. Through this project, they hope to engage children on the subject within a creative environment and support those experiencing homelessness through the toiletry donation boxes initiative.
If you know of a school or group that would be interested in finding out more about holding an Arty Hanns workshop, or if you have any questions about the project, you can get in touch with Amber and Samantha using the details below. You can also find them on Instagram by searching for @artyhanns.
Get in touch with Arty Hanns
