A beautiful art installation on Yeovil high street is lighting up the community this December.
We’ve been working with local artist Natasha Rand, and charity Spark Somerset to help people get creative during lockdown. The project is all about celebrating home and community.
The installation is the culmination of Home Is Where The Heart Is, an arts and crafts initiative that gave 30 of our supported housing residents a creative activity to focus on in November. Natasha Rand, of Creation Generation, provided older adults with materials plus a DVD tutorial and practical guide to help them create the lantern houses from the safety of their home.
The whole community was invited to get involved too, by sharing their designs on social media or sending pictures of them to feature in the window display. The designs have been finished off with a battery-powered tealight, illuminating the unique creations and creating a Community of Lanterns. Natasha said:
“Promoting wellbeing through art and creativity is a real joy. The process of making is absorbing, relaxing and offers a sense of achievement. In this time of isolation and social distancing, I wanted to think about how our homes, gardens, streets and neighbourhoods had become our whole world.
“The project represents the heart of a home through lantern light and how together our homes can create caring and warm communities. Creating art separately and bringing it together like this bonds people through what they create.”
The display can be enjoyed by everyone visiting Yeovil high street as it’s on show in a window in the Quedam Shopping area. The location was provided by Yeovil Art Space as part of the Together We Are Stronger initiative.
Local charity Spark Somerset are also supporting this project, working in partnership with Abri to deliver Take Part, improving health and wellbeing in the local community through different projects.
“Displaying art in public places, particularly at no cost for the viewer, holds a vital importance in connecting and stimulating our communities. The Arts bring life and conversation and connectivity.” – Yeovil Art Space
The Community of Lanterns will be on display in the Quedam shopping area on Yeovil high street until Saturday 16 January 2021.