Membership
Arts Network provides a supportive and welcoming space for our members to explore their creativity, socialise and feel part of the community. Our free services are primarily aimed at people who have a clinical diagnosis of mental illness, with a focus on those who are isolated and find it difficult to access mainstream activities and education services, or find these do not cater to their needs.
We provide opportunities and training for our members to grow within the organisation in the following ways depending on their interests and experience:
- Becoming Co-members who help members to set up their activities and let them know about upcoming trips and other social events
- Volunteering at Arts Network and at our partner organisations for example, South London and Maudsley (SLaM) services
- Training as Facilitators and assisting staff to run workshops
Our staff and practitioners are uniquely placed to understand the challenges faced by our members as many have experienced mental ill-health or cared for someone who has. We feel it’s essential for members to have a sense of ownership over our creative programmes, how the organisation is run and what services we offer. We have member Trustees on our Board and hold regular events for members to socialise and offer feedback in friendly and informal settings.
Referral
If you are interested in becoming a member, please ask a mental health professional to support you to complete this online referral form when you have looked at the below details about our services. In our experience, the people who benefit the most from our membership programme have a mental health professional or care team supporting them. Professionals who can complete our referral forms include:
- Care-coordinators
- Psychiatrists
- Any mental health professional who is part of the applicant’s clinical support team and can provide ongoing support
Lewisham Service
Our Lewisham service is run from our studio at 8-12 Eltham Road, London SE12 8TF. We offer studio sessions where members can take part in creative activities, guided by our facilitators, or they can explore their creativity by using a variety of materials we have on offer to develop their own projects. We also organise online workshops and local events when the weather allows! Please complete our online referral form (see above) if you are interested in joining these activities.
Lambeth & Southwark creative programme
We also have a free creative programme for adults living in Lambeth and Southwark with experience of accessing South London and Maudsley (SLaM) mental health services. We’re organising an interesting mix of in-person and online workshops. If you would like to join these sessions please complete our online referral form (see above) with a mental health professional.
No art experience is required for any of our activities and beginners are very welcome.
We accept referrals from clients living anywhere in the UK, not just Greater London. If you are able to access our online and/or in-person sessions and meet our referral criteria you can apply to become a member.
If you are not eligible for any of our services, there are other ways to get involved. Follow the links below to find out about our volunteering opportunities and public workshops.
