Arc COVID-19 Update – July 4th 2020

We know that many of you are asking “When will Arc be reopening?” as the lockdown is gradually eased in some areas of our lives.
At the moment we don’t have a specific date, but I wanted to reassure you that we are working hard to plan for the future and following all the new Government guidelines as they come out.

Obviously we were just settling in to our new base at the Hat Works building – and there was such a strong social as well as creative atmosphere there. So lockdown was incredibly disappointing and we desperately want to get that ‘buzz’ back!

But the Arc Team have worked harder than ever to stay in touch with our participants, to provide support and a friendly voice, to post activities and art materials and create brand new creative programmes that can be accessed from home. I am delighted to say that lots of people are now taking part in those new programmes – Keeping Us Together, Creative Challenge, Creative Mums Online and the Summer Community Programme and one participant said that their Zoom-based art activity “felt like Arc” which is what we want!

We know that lots of you will be eager to come back to our face-to-face sessions again. We’re working to make Hat Works safe along with our partner venues so that we can hopefully offer a limited programme some time in the autumn, prioritising our most vulnerable programme participants and those without digital access. We’ll let everyone know as soon as we have a plan in place.

Please help us with our planning by answering a few questions about your expectaions and preferences.

In the meantime do keep taking part in the programmes we offer, being creative at home and staying connected with us.

We’re really looking forward to seeing you all again! 

Many thanks,
Jacqui & the whole Arc Team

 

Any changes will be announced via our social media channels and on the website. You can still reach the team at the usual email addressess and the phone lines will be regularly monitored. Sign up for our mailing lists to get specifics arts updates.

Mind have issued the following advice which is available via their website. In addition, here are some very helpful ways to look after ourselves from the BBC.