Students on the ‘Threads of Resilience’ textiles art course began exhibiting their work at Forth Valley College’s Stirling Campus on Friday 19 April and it will remain on display until Thursday 9 May.
Funding from the Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund For Adults, helped to create the exciting new ten week course which started in January 2024.
The College’s Creative Industries Department developed the project proposal before Christmas. It was designed to pilot an approach to support individuals with diagnosed mental health conditions, to continue their creative learning and transition from a hospital based setting into a campus environment at the Stirling Campus.
Running over a 10 week period one day a week, from Friday 19 January to the Easter Holidays, the project worked with around 10 individuals who have attended the well-established Artspace Project in Stirling.
FVC Textiles Lecturer Julie Borland delivered the project and Aya Iguchi from Artspace supported the transition of the participants from Artspace to the College. Stirlingshire Voluntary Enterprise were also involved in managing the funding.
Linda Paterson, FVC Creative Industries Curriculum Manager, said: “The students who participated in the course have produced an incredible amount of beautiful textiles work covering a range of techniques and their work ethic is apparent. Due to the success of the project we are now discussing transitions onto mainstream courses with some of the participants. We hope to secure additional funding in the future to allow us to further develop projects such as this. The work is on display within the Stirling Campus foyer until Thursday 9 May.
“Artspace is Artlink Central’s dedicated arts programme working with adult participants with diagnosed mental health problems across Stirling. From discussions with Artlink, it was clear there was a lack of local provision which would provide a ‘bridge’ to progress from informal to more formal learning.
“This project will acted as that bridge, working with individuals referred from Artlink who are keen to enhance their skills and creative knowledge, but are not ready to make the leap into a mainstream course.
“The project is a textiles project and the title is ‘Threads of Resilience’, it has supported individuals into a campus setting, providing a warm, welcoming environment in which they could develop their skills. It also offered the opportunity to explore further learning opportunities on completion of the programme.
“The purpose was to reduce social isolation, create connections and develop confidence through attending the classes in a campus setting. It has also supported resilience - preparing individuals to progress and increase their awareness of options for learning, volunteering and employment.
“Threads of Resilience has also promoted a sense of wellbeing and achievement, as individuals taking part have worked towards being part of this Stirling Campus exhibition to display their work to the wider community - changing perceptions and breaking down stereotypes of mental health.”
Art and Design Lecturer Julie Borland, added: “Threads of Resilience has exceeded all our expectations. The exciting work created and the commitment shown by the class members has made this a rewarding project to be involved in. Hopefully we will see some of the class back on campus soon as they build on their achievements.”
For more information on Artlink visit www.artlinkcentral.org
