Talking Care

Yesterday was a day full of special deliveries – and what fun it was. First, Caitlin and I met up at Suffolk Archives in Lowestoft, to put up an exhibition of the lovely artwork created last term by students at Pakefield Primary School and residents at Hildesley Court. A mixture of text, images and original […]

“My local heritage seems much more important than I ever thought. Loads of things have changed and it’s been super exciting to find out all [about] the things.” So wrote Florence, in today’s final Special Delivery session. It’s been a joy working with the pupils at Pakefield Primary School and it’s particularly delightful that they […]

‘See if they can find the newspaper cutting of me, when I was the youngest skipper in Lowestoft,’ suggested Derrick, a resident at Hildesley Court. This challenge was added to the Quest, a list of questions for the children to answer on their visit to the Suffolk Record Office in Lowestoft. The children searched through […]

This week’s session produced two very Special Delivery parcels, with poet Dean Parkin giving some hints and tips on what to pack. First, each group had to think of a ‘sensible’ present. Shoe polish, a stamp collection magazine and an orange for extra vitamin C were just a few suggestions from the adults. Next, they […]

‘These sessions are helping us learn more about each other – we may all live here, but we wouldn’t hear these stories if we weren’t in this room together now, doing this session together like this.’ So said one of the Hildesley residents, as the group busied themselves printing headlines with letter blocks, applying wax […]

As we approach Children in Need appeal night, we wanted to take this time to say a huge thank you to all the brilliant people and organisations that make our Clown Round project possible. It’s been a crazy time, even for our clown doctors (who are used to a certain amount of crazy!) and we […]

After a really successful Kirkley Creates project, we are pleased to share news of our follow up creative programme – Wild about Kirkley. We welcome you to learn, grow, eat and share through a second series of inspiring, social and creative bi-weekly get-togethers centred around Kirkley, in Lowestoft. From now until March 2022, you can […]

CHILD SHOCKED BY CHANGES TO HIGH STREET BATHING MACHINES ROLL INTO NORTH SEA CHILD DISCOVERS HER HOUSE WAS A FIELD FLOOD AND FIRE DESTROY CHURCH Following our amazing visit to Lowestoft Record Office last week, we spent this week’s session creating some Special Delivery News headlines. One child related her experience of looking for her […]

A huge thank you to Mandy and all her team at the Suffolk Record Office, who made today such a fabulous Special Delivery day. First, Mandy and two heritage trainees came along to Hildesley Court, with a suitcase full of vintage domestic objects including toasters, telephones and teapots. The conversations that flowed were astonishing, and […]

It being half term, Special Delivery did not visit Pakefield Primary school this week – but we did go to Hildesley Court, where we were greeted by a room full of residents (and guests) keen to take part in the session. Having read out the children’s statements about achievements – and aspirations – at certain […]

We’re delighted to announce that our charity Christmas cards are now available to pre-order from our online Christmas shop. For the second year running, our Brave Art students have created some really beautiful designs that will bring cheer to many a mantle this festive season. Pre-orders are open until Sunday 21st November, and cards will […]

Following a recent farewell to both Make, Do & Friends and our Around the Table creative programmes, we are thrilled to have been awarded funding to continue our work bringing creative get-togethers to people in rural Suffolk into 2022. We’re delighted to announce the launch of our new Friends Around the Table programme (can you […]

In Lowestoft, Special Delivery is based on a collection of letters sent to Trevor Westgate, a journalist on the local newspaper. Readers wrote in with their stories about the town and each week Trevor published one or two in his ‘Westgate on Friday’ column. After he retired, the letters were given to the Suffolk Record […]

I have just spend a glorious day with the Brave Art students, staff and textile artist Shelly, in Lowestoft. First, Shelly introduced the group to some simple watercolour techniques and everyone mixed and blended and generally had a great time creating all sorts of patterns and images whilst discovering ways to work with the paint. […]

We are recruiting early years musicians! Are you an early years musician or a musician with an interest in moving into early years music? We are looking for musicians who are keen to explore the world of early years music to take part in our Little Beats programme. Little Beats is a partnership project between […]

Our magnificent volunteer, Amanda, has not been able to join us on our current Special Delivery programme, but that hasn’t stopped her joining in the fun. Hopefully, she’ll be able to join us next term, when we’ll be working with two more Lowestoft primary schools.

Who would think we could go from this … … to this? or from this … to this …? Photographs of the participants were printed onto sheets of acetate and then used as a template to draw round and decorate. These drawings, complete with embellishments of colourful lighting gels, phrases, names and, of course, the […]

This week, residents at Hildesley Court got to read the responses to the postcards they wrote last week to the Pakefield Primary school children. As Libby noted, it felt strange writing to someone she had never met, and part of the session was spent chatting about different ways of addressing letters, from ‘Dear Sir or […]

It was lovely to be back at Hildesley Court and Pakefield Primary school last week, for the first session of Special Delivery in Lowestoft. Working with community poet, Dean Parkin, we first went to Hildesley Court, where residents regaled us with stories of their first days at school. One adult recounted that, on her first […]

On Sunday we held our very first Garden Party fundraiser in Pettaugh, and what a great day it was! As the sun shone, we welcomed friends and neighbours to the beautiful surroundings of Laffitt’s Hall for a day of Suffolk Artlink magic! The art marquee was a popular spot, giving visitors the chance to try […]

Thanks to a new grant of £27,417 from Youth Music, we are once again working with Suffolk Libraries to improve wellbeing, child development and musical engagement amongst pre-school children across the county. Little Beats 2 will be building on the first phase of the project which took place earlier this year. The new phase of […]

Last week saw the start of a new year of Brave Art, our arts course for adults with learning disabilities. After moving the course online last March, our staff, students and volunteers are thrilled to be back together again, creating in venues across Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich and Lowestoft. This year’s theme is ‘One World’. […]

As part of the recent Heritage Open Days, Special Delivery popped up at Lowestoft Record Offices for a one-off session exploring this year’s theme; Edible England with poet Dean Parkin. Dean welcomed locals to share their tales, past and present about buying and eating food in Lowestoft, as well as chatting about what people would […]

On the 11th September at 10.30am, we will be popping up at Lowestoft Record Offices for a special one-off session as part of the Heritage Open Days. This year’s theme for the Heritage Open Days is Edible England, so we will be welcoming locals to share their tales, past and present about buying and eating […]

We were so pleased to celebrate the culmination of The Third Person’s Kirkley Creates artist residency with a beautiful dance performance at First Light Festival’s Longest Days of Summer. Thanks to DanceEast, who commissioned a film of the day, we have a fabulous record of the performance for you to enjoy.   Artists, Carrie Phoenix […]

Special Delivery may have been a little quiet lately with lockdowns and restrictions playing havoc, but do not fear, the creative cogs are turning and exciting things are a foot. In recent weeks, two of our artists, Lynn Whitehead and Caitlin Howells have been busy behind the scenes creating a beautiful, explorative film. The film […]

Much has changed in our programme delivery in the past year, which has inevitably seen us moving many of our face-to-face activities online. To reflect this change of emphasis in our delivery, this year we are producing a digital annual and opening our AGM up to the public through an online event. Whether you are […]

Earlier this summer, we said a fond farewell to Make, Do & Friends, our creative programme aimed at addressing rural isolation in older people throughout mid-Suffolk and Babergh. What a lot we’ve done, learnt and delivered since the project began two years ago! And little did we know when we started out how important the […]

This week we received funding from the British Council Micro Awards to develop a brand new international partnership between our Brave Art students and art students in Malawi. Suffolk Artlink join together with Rhobert Magasi, a Malawian artist, to facilitate the student’s progress over the coming months. Brave art students Sally Payne and Harvey Harris […]

As it’s Creativity and Wellbeing week, and the school holidays are coming up, we thought it was a great time to share some new resources with you, designed to help introduce pre-school children to music in creative ways. Little Beats was a project partnership between Suffolk Artlink and Suffolk Libraries that took place during the […]

We’re delighted to report that our Clown Doctors are once again back on their rounds at the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital’s Children’s Ward this month. And whilst most of us have been buying nice comfy leisurewear online, our Clowns have been on the hunt for the best in bubble guns and comedic headgear to fit […]

In celebration of Creativity and Wellbeing week, hundreds of artworks and photos from our community arts projects can now be viewed online on Google Arts & Culture by people around the world due to our new partnership with Google. Thanks to this new virtual exhibition, users will be able to see collections of artworks created […]

We are welcoming residents in and around Kirkley to grow, eat and share through our new series of inspiring, social and creative weekly get-togethers centred around the area’s venues and green spaces. Every Tuesday from now until August, you can enjoy free activities led by artists, Carrie Phoenix and Kasia Posen, alongside guests including forager, […]

Our partnership with Suffolk Open Studios continues into 2021, we have been invited to judge their first online exhibition, launching on 10th April. The exhibition precedes the Suffolk Open Studios scheme, which takes place in June this year, and features around 100 individual artworks by a variety of Suffolk-based artists. A panel consisting of Suffolk […]

Arabella Marshall is a Suffolk-based glass artist whose work can currently be seen at RSPB Minsmere nature reserve. Her special commission, A Wing And A Prayer, is a piece of public art inspired by the thriving yet vulnerable natural environment at Minsmere, located on the Suffolk Coast. The installation, which can now be seen in […]

Following in the footsteps of Make, Do & Friends, we’re continuing on our mission to tackle loneliness through creativity, and are excited to share news that we have just commissioned three place-based artist residencies across Suffolk. Our artists will each head up their own creative initiative in a Suffolk town or village, with the aim […]

This month, we are really excited to start working with the Kirkley Centre, First Light Festival and The Third Person – artists Kasia Posen and Carrie Phoenix – on a project to engage the Kirkley community in this year’s First Light Festival. Our artists are currently developing ways to reach, and connect local groups together […]

We’ve been delighted to see some of the results of our Little Beats’ project this month, following a creative partnership with Suffolk Libraries. Regular visitors to Great Cornard Library’s regular music sessions for pre-school children may have spotted that ‘Tom’s Tot Rock’ sessions have had a makeover, including the addition of a fairy castle and […]

Thanks to funding provided by Arts Council England and Suffolk Carers Fund, we have been able to extend our programme of free creative get-togethers for family carers across Suffolk, led by a rich variety of experienced chefs, foodies and artists. The new creative sessions are building on our successful ‘Around the Table’ project, which to […]

What a joy to start our brand new intergenerational project, Special Delivery, this summer. We have spent enjoyable and inspiring times with pupils from Abbots Green Academy thanks to the power of Zoom, and some brilliantly creative artists. Each week, we beamed our artists over to the school in Bury St Edmunds, as we explored […]

As 2020 comes to a close, we’ve been excited to see the culmination of our pilot virtual reality project, VR Adventures. Despite the challenges presented by the year’s events, our artists spent the summer testing out virtual reality (VR) technology to find ways to use it to bring new and enjoyable creative experiences to care […]

After three years of our successful creative programme for family carers in Suffolk, we are delighted to have secured funding to continue delivering sessions into 2021. As well as continuing to support family carers in and around Claydon and Lowestoft, we’ll be welcoming participants from Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket to take part in Around […]

In the last three months, we have listened to brand new stories, created poems and self portraits, drawn to music, made unique envelopes, aged paper in trays of cold tea and crafted greetings cards decorated with images of ‘small things’ – all inspired by the Dunkirk Letters. The children have shared that work with the […]

Originally, we intended to take the school children to visit the Bury St Edmunds Record Office but, of course, that isn’t possible right now. So we were thrilled when Hannah Salisbury, the Community and Learning Officer (West Suffolk) from Suffolk Archives, offered to do an online presentation. It was fascinating; did you know that there […]

Special Delivery began with some jigsaws, as the children pieced together copies of the Dunkirk Letters. After this, the children created postcard self-portraits, cut them up into jigsaws and, using handmade envelopes, posted the puzzles to members of the Bury St Edmunds Theatre Royal Act Your Age group. The group was thrilled to receive them […]

Here are some of the cards created by the children, to celebrate the little things in life that matter so much.

We’ve been thinking about ‘little things’ – as in the little things the soldiers wrote about in their letters home from Dunkirk – and also the things they asked for, like shaving soap and writing paper. Exploring the letters like this, looking for clues about what it was like, really brings the letters – and […]

Inspired by an exhibit in their local museum, we invited residents in Laxfield to share with us some of the treasures they have stashed in their sheds – and the results were both fascinating and bizarre. Participants gathered outside the church and, using what looked suspiciously like sponge cake moulds, made impressions of their individual […]

Members of the Bury St Edmunds Theatre Royal Act Your Age group have been hard at work, creating characters based on the Dunkirk Letters – and I got to sit in on a Zoom session and hear them performing the monologues. It was amazing – people who were barely mentioned in the actual letters suddenly […]

In response to the Black Lives Matter movement and the reaction around the world to the shocking police killing of George Floyd, we have considered the actions we will take to address inequalities in our work. Movements like Black Lives Matter, #MeToo and Pride remind us of how important it is to be actively inclusive […]

We’re looking forward to a week-long selection of virtual regional events and webinars, taking place from the 16 – 20 November 2020, hosted by the Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance and Arts & Health South West. During the morning each day, online Regional Events will take place. The afternoons will offer a series of live […]

This month, we launched a free arts programme aimed at addressing rural isolation in Suffolk’s older residents. ‘What is your village made of?’ invites adults (55+) to take part in free activities that encourage creativity and connection with others, using their home villages and towns as inspiration. The programme is part of our ‘Make, Do […]

We were so pleased to see our Clowns return to their rounds on the children’s ward at Norfolk & Norwich Hospital this autumn. Drs Dizzy Daydream, Christobel Misschief, Kerfuffle Buffle and Kimble Curly have been paying regular visits since September and, whilst following social distancing and other safety precautions required by the hospital, they are […]

We are delighted to share Suffolk Artlink’s review of our activities in 2019/2020. Over the year, we worked with 2,917 people including family carers, people with learning disabilities, older people and young people in youth clubs, schools, hospitals and hospices. We employed 59 freelance artists to deliver inspirational creative activities in all 7 districts in […]

Last month, photographer Gillian Allard ran a ‘walking workshop’ in Risby, in which she accompanied residents as they showed her some of their favourite sights in the village, and she gave them tips on how best to photograph them. The resulting images were then bonded on to logs and yesterday we gathered in a large […]

They’ve arrived. The children received their letters, which they read before the session, as there was so much to get through, we weren’t sure we’d fit it all in. First, it was finishing off the envelopes, after which children had to snip up the postcard pictures they’d drawn of themselves and put them inside. To […]

Last week, we asked the children to draw a self-portrait on a postcard, and to add a few lines about themselves. The results are so lovely, we thought we’d share them here, ahead of tomorrow’s session … when who knows what might happen to them? The featured image is of our wonderful volunteer, Amanda who, […]

Last week, the children were introduced to the Dunkirk letters – and got to open their archive boxes full of pens, paper and other resources they’re going to need over the next month or so. This week, our story teller Lynn went through some of those letters and the children picked out unfamiliar words and […]

Photographer Gillian Allard visited Risby today, for the first Connect session with local residents. After sharing a few top tips for taking photographs, Gillian walked round the village with the groups, as they took images of locations that connect them to their community. The church, the huge elm tree, the duck pond and several other […]

What a joy to start our brand new intergenerational project, Special Delivery, yesterday, and to meet the children from Abbots Green Academy in Bury St Edmunds. Their reasons for wanting to take part in the project were many and varied, from a desire to work with artists to a keen interest in local history and […]

It’s been quite a year for Brave Art, but despite the hurdles, we are delighted to have been able to continue providing our arts course for adults with learning disabilities without a pause since March. We’ve had a fantastic term, making the most of Zoom, Facebook, telephone and post to keep in touch with our […]

We have be selected as the recipients of funds from the 2020 Pakefield Postcard Auction! The event is run by the Ferini Gallery, and raises thousands of pounds each summer for local charities. Whilst the auction can’t go ahead at The Victoria Hotel as planned, it will be held as a live online event, at […]

We’re embarking upon a new project in partnership with Suffolk Libraries that aims to improve wellbeing, child development and musical engagement amongst pre-school children. Running until April 2021, ‘Little Beats’ will bring musicians, an early years music educator / researcher and an early years movement specialist together with librarians from Great Cornard and Lowestoft. By […]

Whilst our Clown Doctors haven’t been able to make their usual visits to children in hospitals and hospices around the region, they have been busy trialling new ways of beaming their special brand of fun, laughter and distraction to those that need it the most. Last week, they were thrilled to trial their first ‘Zoom’ […]

During 2019, we performed a year-long evaluation of the impact of our Forget-Me-Not artist visits at Ipswich and West Suffolk Hospitals. We have now published the results and are pleased to see that they clearly show that the visits had a positive impact on the wellbeing of patients and their family members both during, and […]

It’s been an interesting time for our Brave Art project, whose thriving creative community of learning disabled artists benefit so much not just from weekly creative activities and inspiration, but also from enjoying shared time with artists, tutors, volunteers and their fellow students. However, we are delighted to be keeping our community connected during this […]

As part of our ‘Make, Do & Friends’ programme, we’re inviting residents across the county to get creative this week in celebration of Suffolk Day on Sunday 21st June. In partnership with the Rural Coffee Caravan, we’d like you to celebrate our county – it could be something a bit quirky or overlooked – by […]

Whilst bringing our family carers together in person isn’t possible during this time of social distancing, we are pleased to announce a variety of new ways that we’ll be bringing a bit of company and creativity into their lives. Our wonderful project officer, Kasia, has been working alongside a group of professional artists to create […]

In the midst of the coronavirus crisis, here at Suffolk Artlink we’ve been reflecting, remodelling and adapting both our work and personal lives in response to the need to socially isolate. We are, like many of you, finding great challenge in this, but we are also noticing that with a new focus on home and […]

We recently welcomed photographer, Gillian Allard, to our roster of talented artists, and she’s already made a big impact. Most recently, Gillian has been working with our Brave Art students, supporting them to take a series of really spectacular portraits as they explore the theme of Transformation. We’ll be sharing the results of this session […]

We are delighted to announce the launch of the brand new blog site for Make, Do and Friends, our programme of creative social events for adults (55+) in villages and towns in Mid Suffolk and Babergh. As the artists can’t come out to see you all in person, they have been busy devising ways to […]

Whether it’s from a balcony or a bathroom – lift up your voice and lift up your spirits in song. By way of a little encouragement, here’s a snippet from the Make, Do & Friends natural voice choir in Westhorpe, demonstrating just how glorious it is when we sing … as you can just hear […]

Following UK Government advice, we are suspending all face-to-face delivery of our projects until further notice.  We know that the need for creativity and company is even more important than ever right now, and are looking at new ways to support the communities of people we work with.  It is our intention to continue working […]

Suffolk Artlink is following advice in relation to the ongoing coronavirus situation. You can find our current COVID 19 Policy here.

We love to shine a light on the talented artists we get to work with on our projects, and this week it’s the turn of dance artist, Tom Hobden. Tom is part of the multi-disciplinary artist team that is helping to develop our VR Adventures project, so he’s currently playing around with new technology and […]

The rain stopped raining, the wind stopped blowing and the sun came out and shone on our Creative Celebration at Wingfield Barns this Wednesday, 4th March. By midday, adults and school children alike were hand-crafting paper, creating animations, producing beautiful poetry and even blowing paint bubbles, all in the name of celebrating what they love […]

It was lovely to meet so many people at Beyton today and hear some of their wonderful stories about the village. From recollections of being taken from the infant school, complete with chair, to sit and witness the blowing up the last remaining pill box in the village, to a beautifully drawn map of all […]

As Make, Do & Friends moves into its second year, we are pleased to announce a new programme of free creative and social events bringing older generations together with their friends and neighbours in rural towns and villages in Suffolk. Let by professional artists, the sessions will free and the activities as varied as the […]

Just back from a very full morning at Roman Hill Primary School, Lowestoft, and their Creative Careers event. During the course of the morning, each Year Group visited the event and was challenged to try and guess what sort of job we did. As you can see from these suggestions, the children came up with […]

A new collaborative partnership of Creative Festivals is aiming to turn May 2020 into a month of creativity and culture: Age of Creativity: throughout May 2020 Get Creative Festival: 9-17 May 2020 Creativity & Wellbeing Week: 18-24 May 2020 With creativity and wellbeing now high on the agenda in policy across culture, health, ageing, social […]

Multidisciplinary artist Emily is a new member of the Suffolk Artlink team, joining us for our pioneering new arts and wellbeing project that uses virtual reality technology to improve wellbeing for people in health and care settings in Suffolk and Norfolk. Based in Suffolk, Emily has shown works around the UK and beyond, exhibiting at […]

With Christmas came parties, discos – and the end of the Rock On project. Over the last 24 months, we’ve run 126 music sessions, supported seven performance showcases and worked with 168 young people, as well as 19 youth workers and seven music tutors. We’ve trained tutors and support workers to deliver the Discover and […]

After a fabulous first term of Brave Art, we are looking forward to welcoming new students for the next term of our art course for adults with learning disabilities. Starting in January, students can sign up for one of three locations – Lowestoft, Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich. Since September this year, our students have […]

We’re celebrating receiving a £99,000 National Lottery Heritage Fund Grant, to deliver a project that brings young and old together to explore the county’s social history. Our ‘Letters from…’ project aims to creatively engage Suffolk’s primary school children and care home residents in their shared heritage through artist-led activities. The project will focus on collections […]

Tina is a visual artist who uses installations and collaborations to respond to her environment for the benefit of the people around her – so she’s the perfect artist to join team Suffolk Artlink to help us deliver the second year of Make, Do & Friends! Name: Tina Hannay Can you tell us a little […]

It’s the time of year that we say a huge thank you to BBC Children in Need, which has its annual celebration this month. Thanks to their support, the soundtrack to children’s wards and EACH Hospices across the East feature fits of giggles, guffaws of laughter and squeals of delight. Our Clown Round project has […]

Where: Thorpe Morieux Village Hall, IP30 0NR When: November 30th & December 1st 10am-4pm Showing work by artists with studios in the heart of Suffolk – inspired by their beautiful surroundings. Preview evening Friday 29th November 7-9pm As winter draws in and November turns towards Christmas the charming Thorpe Morieux Village Hall will be the […]

When the Youth Team responsible for planning NessFest – the Lowestoft Youth Festival – said they wanted more music this year, Rock On was delighted to get involved; so it was that yesterday Lowestoft Library throbbed with the rapid beat of drum and bass music, as DJs Steve and Marco ran workshops throughout the day. […]

We are delighted to have been awarded a National Lottery Project Grant through Arts Council England to develop a new project, ‘VR Adventures’, bringing immersive virtual reality (VR) experiences to benefit people in health and care settings. This pilot project in association with Google Arts & Culture, will focus on using VR technology to deliver […]

Thanks to generous new funding, we’ll be offering another year of social, cultural and creative sessions for family carers in Suffolk. We will be delivering our Around the Table project in Lowestoft and Claydon, as well as extending the project into  Halesworth and Bury St Edmunds from early 2020. Every month we will bring carers […]

As our intergenerational project, Lowestoft Folk, comes to an end, we thought you’d enjoy a film sharing a little bit of what went on as we brought young and old together to creatively explore their shared heritage. In the words of resident, Les: “It’s all part of life and the richness of it and that’s […]

What an amazing week of Lowestoft Folk fun. First, story teller Lynn and artist Kate went to Elm Tree Primary School, where they worked in the specialist deaf and speech and language units. The children really enjoyed the story and all joined in with making their very own boats-in-bottles and silver darlings. On Saturday, as […]

Last Friday, we held our final celebration event for Lowestoft Folk – and what a celebration it was. We started with a short film of some of the things the participants have done over the last three months, including the songs they’ve written, the work they’ve made and one or two comments about how they […]

As well as being a talented artist, we are lucky enough to have Carrie Phoenix on the Suffolk Artlink team.  Her experience as an artist brings her a depth of knowledge that allows her to deliver our projects with exceptional insight and creativity. Name: Carrie Phoenix Can you tell us a little bit about your […]

Our JumpstART students have had an amazing summer showing their fabulous creations at a wide array of arts festivals around the county. In June, we saw our Lowestoft students’ beautiful light installations hanging from the trees in Kensington Gradens at First Light Festival in Lowestoft. These twinkling beauties were enjoyed by thousands of visitors who […]

The sun sizzled, the temperature soared – and Lowestoft Folk sailed into the main library in town, for a story time of Maritime Tales and a creative session, making tiny seascapes in petri dishes. Lynn told the Maritime Tales whilst Sue – a BSL signer – interpreted the story. Everyone said how much they enjoyed […]

We’re on the lookout for a new part-time Volunteer Communications and Development Assistant to join us in our Halesworth office. Are you a friendly and proactive individual with an interest in communications, fundraising and/or creative arts? You might be seeking work experience in the arts or charity sector, or perhaps you’re looking for an opportunity […]

Last week, Lowestoft Folk was at Lowestoft Museum in the morning, working with their wonderful Cabinet of Curiosity and making tiny figures inspired by their collections, followed by a quick dash across town and an exhilarating double session at the Maritime Museum – where the glorious Lowestoft Folk Sea Chest was unveiled for the first […]

We’ve been working with community artist, Caitlin Howells, for many years now, and our collaborations never fail to produce beautiful results, both in terms of our participants’ creative experiences and the artworks they produce together. Name: Caitlin Howells Can you tell us a little bit about your own practice? I am a community artist, I […]

We’ve got a fantastic summer of creative get-togethers ahead for older people in rural Mid Suffolk and Babergh as part of our Make, Do & Friend programme. All free of charge, and covering a wide variety of creative pursuits, there’s something for everyone! Why not dip your toe in the water this summer and, if […]

Booking is now open for our new year-long art courses for adults with learning disabilities, which take place in Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich and Lowestoft from this September. Brave Art is an exciting new programme of year-long art courses, during which students will learn new creative, life and leadership skills supported by professional artists and […]

Our regular sessions may have finished, but we’ve got a really exciting programme of FREE storytelling and creative activity sessions happening in Lowestoft this summer. No booking is required – all the creative activities run on a ‘drop-in’ basis and are limited only by the number of chairs we can get round the table. Stories […]

Friday was the final regular session in our Lowestoft Folk programme – and it was such fun, all the artists cried. First off, Lynn got everyone thinking about what the project meant to them, the things they had done and what were their favourite bits. Then they had to come up with a really short […]

Last night, Coppice Court organised a Talent Show for the residents and Rock On tutors Matt and Candida were delighted to support the young people as they demonstrated their musical skills and abilities. It takes a lot of confidence to stand up and sing in front of people you know – often it’s more daunting […]

Our penultimate session – and it was all hands on deck to finish off the embroidered boats, securing them in their circular frames and writing messages on the back; one pair went so far as to write a short-long poem, the last verse of which goes: – But I know the ship will Come back […]

The group has been busy stitching textile pictures of seascapes and this week their task was to make a circular frame for their pictures, like the ones the children had seen at the Maritime Museum; this is how they did it. Everyone was given a sheet of grease proof paper plus an assortment of crayons […]

Next month we say a fond goodbye to our fabulous intergenerational project, Lowestoft Folk. It’s been a resounding success, bringing children from three primary schools in Lowestoft together with their older neighbours to explore their shared folk heritage. Over two years, both young and old have had a great time learning more about each other’s […]

As the summer solstice approaches, we’re getting ready to head to Lowestoft to take part in First Light Festival this weekend, and we’d love to see you there. Starting at 12 noon on Saturday 22nd June, First Light Festival is a brand new, 24-hour festival for the UK. With more than 100 free events, why […]

Musician, Mary Lovett, brought a touch of musical magic to Lowestoft Folk this year, and we’re glad that she too experienced moments of magic by being part of our intergenerational success story. Can you tell us a little bit about your own practice? I am a musician, performer and composer with a background in early […]

It’s been a really busy few weeks for Rock On, with sessions in Felixstowe, Leiston, Saxmundham and two venues in Lowestoft. In Felixstowe, we’ve just completed a 6-week mini project, in which DJ and singer/ songwriter Sophie Tott introduced young adult residents at the Foyer to the joys of mixing their favourite tunes. She also […]

This week, there was great excitement as the residents ripped the masking tape and letters off their bags, to reveal the beautiful patterns underneath; they all declared they were very pleased with the result and the children were well impressed. Whilst at the Maritime Museum the previous week, the children drew some of the folk […]

On 7th June, the children went off for a trip to the Maritime Museum, where Kate and Lynn sent them off to draw items of folk art and collect weird and wonderful sounding words.   Back at Hildesley, Caitlin helped the residents make their very own tote bags – something they had always wanted to […]

This week we are celebrating an award of £376,309 from the National Lottery Community Fund to deliver a new creative arts course for people with learning disabilities in Suffolk. Brave Art will offer students in Bury St Edmunds, Lowestoft and Ipswich the opportunity to develop their creative, life and leadership skills through year-long arts courses. […]

We’ve had a great twelve months as Suffolk County Council’s Chairman’s chosen charity, and as the year ends, it’s only left for us to say a huge thank you to Chairman, Michael Ladd, and his colleagues for their support. From staff quizzes and Christmas fayres to sponsored runs and raffles, the generous folk at Suffolk […]

As Creativity and Wellbeing Week approaches in June, we’ve been busy working on events that aim to help develop the arts, culture and health sector in the East. Earlier this month, our Co-Director, Alex Casey, led the very first Culture Health East Network event, which took place at the Jerwood DanceHouse, and focussed on the […]

Last Friday at Hildesley Court, the Lowestoft Folk worked with artist Kate Munro, to create their very own message – and ship – in a bottle. First, everyone thought about what sort of message they would like to write – messages of hope, encouragement and best wishes for the future. Working in pairs, everyone then […]

It’s just two weeks until we hang our Suffolk Open Studios exhibition at La Tour Cycle Café on Ipswich’s Waterfront! From Thursday 6th June until the end of the month, we’re showing a variety of joyful, inspiring and moving mixed media works created by our participants and students, including family carers, school pupils, care home […]

Possibly one of the UK’s only ‘theatre chefs’, this month’s artist loves to use food and cooking as a way of sharing stories and provoking conversations. He’s full of exciting and tasty ideas – this year he will be inviting family carers taking part in our Around the Table project to ‘bake their biography’! Name: […]

What a lovely session on Friday. The children from Pakefield Primary School visited residents at Hildesley Court for the first time and within minutes it was like they’d always known each other. There was much excitement as the children ripped off the masking tape to reveal the patterns on their Lowestoft Folk Story Bags and […]

Last Friday, the Cabinet of Curiosity was returned to Lowestoft Museum, having spent the last couple of months in the Record Office in Lowestoft Library. Whilst at the Museum, it was lovely to see that they have put up the Suffolk Puff panels in the Domestic Room, alongside the original Suffolk Puff quilt.   Then […]

On Friday, our Lowestoft Folk pupils performed their shadow puppet show to an audience of family and friends – and over 50 of their classmates, as well as teachers, at Roman Hill. We all gathered in the school’s music room, where the children performed the story of sailors from the Maritime Museum mending their nets, […]

It’s not always easy to describe what goes on in a Lowestoft Folk session – there are just so many things happening, from making things and helping one another to learning new skills and hearing about old ones. Take a look for yourself by watching the Lowestoft Folk Sea Shanty film Last Friday was our […]

Over the last few weeks, the Lowestoft Folk group has been mending, singing and making the most beautiful objects, to use in their shadow puppet theatre. Sessions begin with a bit of traditional knot tying – as the children gather round to tie pieces of net together. There’s usually a song going on – often […]

We’re pleased to announce our next free performance from Make, Do & Friends, our creative programme for older people in rural areas . On Friday 3rd May, we’re looking forward to welcoming Glasshouse Dance Company to Lavenham Village Hall for a performance of ‘A Little Bit of Light’. Through music and dance, ‘A Little Bit […]

To celebrate World Down Syndrome awareness day, we wanted to share some of the fantastic art created by Liza Wilkes, one of our  regular JumpstART students. In our recent Storytelling course, Liza composed her own story and illustrated it with beautiful artworks she created using watercolour and ink.   The Frozen Marriage Once upon a […]

We’re happy to be able to share details of the very first event delivered as part of the new Culture and Health Network for the East. Creative Health and Social Prescribing Thursday 16th May 1.30 – 4.30pm DanceHouse, Foundry Lane, Ipswich Join organisations from across the health and cultural sectors in the East at the […]

Booking is now open for our new JumpstART arts course aimed at adults with learning disabilities. Starting in the first week in April, this 10-week course will focus on Festival Arts and take place in Bury St Edmunds, Lowestoft and Ipswich. Once again we’re offering our students the chance to enjoy exploring a variety of […]

For the very first year, we’ve created an art walk especially for the Suffolk Walking Festival fringe programme. Thanks to a partnership with The Red House, we’re offering you and your family a chance to join professional artist, Kasia Posen, as you take in the inspiring landscape surrounding the former home of Benjamin Britten and […]

When is a DJ not a DJ? When she’s a guitar tutor. Last night at the Foyer in Felixstowe, DJ Tallulah Goodtimes stepped away from the decks and turned to her other great passion – that of being a singer/songwriter. We were joined by two young musicians, both hugely talented and keen to learn more, […]

Back from the half term break, and the Lowestoft Folk quickly got down to work. First, the children showed residents the drawings they’d made during their visit to the Lowestoft Maritime Museum just before half term. After that, everyone got to draw – this time to music. Artist Kate played a selection of music, all […]

We have recently taken over from Arts and Minds on the steering group for the Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance as the arts representative for the East. Working with the museums representative, University of Cambridge Museums, we are co-ordinating a regional network of people working in the sector in order to develop practice, share learning […]

This year, we are once again delighted to be partnering with Suffolk Open Studios. As well as taking part in the event ourselves in June, we will also be showing some of our participants’ work at the forthcoming Suffolk Open Studios Showcase Exhibition. The exhibition is taking place at the Apex Gallery, Bury St Edmunds, […]

This half term, Lowestoft Folk delivered the Cabinet of Curiosity to the Record Office at Lowestoft Library. If you don’t know already, the Cabinet has six small drawers, each lined with gold leaf, and each drawer contains a hint relating to parts of the collections held by Lowestoft Museum. And so, by way of introduction, […]

Mike Knowlden is a chef with a difference. By focusing on that fascinating space where food and culture meet, he’s bringing people together in a way that nurtures creativity, breaks down barriers and creates new connections. Name: Mike Knowlden Can you tell us a little bit about your own practice? I work creatively with food […]

Just before half term, the children taking part in Lowestoft Folk visited Lowestoft Maritime Museum, in search of folk art and strange words. They were wonderfully assisted by Colin (one of the Museum volunteers) and artists Kate and Lynn, who sent the children off in search of specific treasures. First, they had to make observational […]

Last week saw the Lowestoft Folk celebration event for residents at Hildesley Court and pupils from Pakefield Primary school  – and what a celebration it was. The afternoon started with residents creating fortune tellers in which they wrote good luck messages for the pupils; by the time the pupils arrived, there was a real buzz […]

The Butlins Prince by Jessica Galloway There was once a Prince. He didn’t have a job. He didn’t even want one because he was lazy. All day he ate chocolate and watched EastEnders. One day he was on holiday in Butlins and he watched a show. The show was Cinderella. The Prince fancied Cinderella A […]

Brown Dog – No Name By Colin Brinkley Brown Dog had no name.  He had no home. He had no family. Brown Dog slept in sheds and in garages and on the streets and in the bins.  Brown Dog was dirty.  He smelled of dirty. Brown Dog was looking for a home.  He looked at […]

The Picnic By Ruth Williams Ruth went bird-watching by the lake. In the afternoon she bumped into the Gingerbread man out walking. He invited her for an afternoon picnic of porridge. “Yuck” said Ruth “This porridge is disgusting”. The Gingerbread man sulked and cried a bit. Ruth gave him a tissue and said “Keep smiling […]

Today’s story comes from Richard Watts, a regular student at our JumpstART course in Bury St Edmunds.  It’s a rather touching tale that explores the light and dark in all of us, and our need for belonging. The horrible, amazing facts about Bob by Richard Watts Bob lived in Sudbury on his own. He was […]

To celebrate National Storytelling week, every day this week we’ll be sharing stories created by our JumpstART students during their last arts module, ‘Telling Stories’.  Over 15 weeks, students from Lowestoft, Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich found creative ways of sharing their stories – some real, some imaginary – through words, illustrations, word art and […]

This month heralds an end, and a beginning, for Lowestoft Folk. We had a wonderful 12 weeks bringing residents at Hildesley Court Residential Housing unit together with pupils from nearby Pakefield Primary School to explore Lowestoft’s folk heritage. We’ll be celebrating an interesting and fun filled few months at a special event taking place next […]

This month we’re joined by experienced arts project manager, Siobhan Johnson. She takes the helm of our longest running project, Clown Round. With Siobhan on the team, we’re confident that Drs Daydream, Misschief, Buffle and Fidget are in good hands! What were you doing before you joined Suffolk Artlink? I was working for SeaChange Arts, […]

Professional photographer Jemma Watts made her debut at our Around the Table project last year – and what a talented lady!  Having previously worked for Jamie Magazine, Real Homes and House Beautiful she brought a whole new angle to our project exploring food, creativity and culture. And who doesn’t want a loaf of bread with […]

Date: Wednesday 13th February, 12 – 3pm Venue: La Tour Cycle Cafe, 7 Waterfront, Ipswich, IP4 1FT We’re inviting you to a very special Book Launch, following the latest JumpstART Storytelling module. For 12 weeks, students across Lowestoft, Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich created and told stories – some real, some imaginary.  By working with […]

Last week, we visited Britten Court, to run an introductory session for residents and learn a little about their connections to Lowestoft – and what an amazing session it turned out to be. From stories about working as a braider for the Great Grimsby Coal, Salt and Tanning Company, which was by the Bethel, where […]

It was lovely to meet some of the children at Roman Hill Primary School last Friday, where we started a brand new programme of Lowestoft Folk. The school was so welcoming and Ms Whiting really made us feel at home – we can’t wait to go back this week. We also welcomed artist Kate Munro, who […]