Last October, Bill and Lucy from visual arts company LEAP THEN LOOK joined us at Broadfield Community Centre with a creative group from Dimensions – Outreach 3 Way – a local charity that provides support for people with learning disabilities and autism – to explore ways of making art.
The participants fully immersed themselves in hands-on, interactive art-making, through soft sculpture play, bamboo construction, experimental video work and more. Through the sessions, their confidence and artistic expression grew. Tiff, a support worker with Dimension’s Outreach 3 Way, shared what she personally enjoyed at the sessions, ‘I’ve enjoyed seeing the guys enjoy themselves, I’ve seen them come out of their shells, not look to us for what to do, to just get involved. It’s been amazing and it’s probably one of the best things we’ve actually done with the guys … it’s been wonderful.’
Support Worker Graham commented on the workshops’ inclusivity, ‘I’ve seen every single person here taking part, moving on from one item to a different item, and showing ingenuity, artistic-ness, and … making something work, like the bamboo canes behind me, where everybody is just really going for it.’
Local resident Zara Everington provided excellent support during the workshops. She has been working with LEAP THEN LOOK, learning about facilitation, and will continue to be mentored by the artists.
Part of a national tour, LEAP THEN LOOK’s exhibition Play Interact Explore changes and adapts to the places it travels, creating new interactive elements at each location. The work with Dimensions – Outreach 3 Way has helped the company to develop ideas and will inform the Crawley exhibition, coming to our new pop-up creative space in County Mall from Saturday 29th March to Sunday 6th April.
A huge thank you to Bill & Lucy from LEAP THEN LOOK for creating such an inclusive, fun space, and for Dimensions – Outreach 3 Way for taking part and contributing to this incredible project.
You can see the exhibition Play Interact Explore in Crawley from 29 March to 6 April2025 in County Mall. Drop in. More info HERE
