Curious Minds – A Legacy

The legacy groups champion the idea that a creative health programme should offer sustainability beyond the core delivery, and this is often driven by the desire and motivation of individuals to create change and take ownership for their own wellbeing.

These groups are coordinated by Suffolk Community Libraries Creative Health team as part of the Curious Minds delivery model.

The legacy groups create a sustainable approach to the Curious Minds programme by offering bespoke ongoing activities for participants after the 12-week core programme. Each legacy offer will look different for each programme as it is developed and created by the participants based on individual interests, collective ideas and personal aspirations.

The aim is to support participants to continue with their own creative health journeys with light touch staff support. This can involve peer to peer mentoring, self-led or collective group delivery.

A recent survey was sent to a sample of participants to evaluate the impact of the legacy groups on individuals’ wellbeing and creativity.

From the survey it was established that the Legacy groups had a significant positive impact on wellbeing from all those who completed the survey. The groups were also shown to have a significant impact on increased confidence and motivation.

A quote from the recent survey:

“I found the Curious Minds programme very beneficial, inspiring and helpful in building my self-confidence. I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone in a similar position. The first step is always the hardest for me, but once I engaged in the programme, and with the help of the coordinators, artists, and library staff, who were all very welcoming, kind and empathetic, I felt I was in a safe place. I then began to feel more comfortable to experiment with various forms of art without judgement or embarrassment. I never would have had the courage to draw or paint in a group before, let alone participate in an exhibition.

The legacy group at Saxmundham, as a continuation of the programme, has been very beneficial for us. It is a calm and quiet space to continue our exploration of art themes. A time to look forward to and escape into the world of art. We even continued our meetings during the summer break, and ventured out as a group, to various locations for further inspiration. We all support each other in our various projects, whilst engaging in light hearted and friendly conversations. I think we are a small but very friendly group” – (participant of Curious Minds).

In March 2026, participants were invited to contribute to a colouring book created by and for participants of Curious Minds.

You are welcome to download the Curious Minds Mindful Colouring Book for free here
https://www.suffolkartlink.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Curious-Minds-Mindful-Colouring-Book.pdf

Every design in the colouring book has been designed by Curious Minds participants and legacy participants. A special thank you to participants who have contributed to this colouring book including Sarah, Veronica, Sherise, Terry, Lucy, Graham, Nayna and Justin and to Shauna King, Library and Information Advisor and Creative Health Assistant, Suffolk Community Libraries for design and production.

Artists Sarah and Sherise have allowed reproduction of their artwork as cards and prints for our not-for-profit fundraising. Visit our online store https://www.suffolkartlink.org.uk/shop/.