Join us in #spreadingaSMILE

Hand-crocheted SMILES with a message are being posted in and around Exeter to improve the mental wellbeing of the city’s residents during these last weeks of the nation’s lockdown.

During a time when support networks are cut short and coping strategies might not be possible, The Makers Group from the Exeter’s art charity organicARTS recognise that people’s mental health is suffering and are striving to spread smiles across the city as an antidote to their anxiety.

The Makers group is a creative social project run by organicARTS, usually set at West Town Farm, just outside Exeter.

The project has been taken online since the pandemic, conducting online meetings and a creative program which has prompted makers and the general public to engage in art and wellbeing from their own home, including creative writing, pigment making, drawing, painting, printing, nature installations and more.

“The Makers Group was set up to bring people together, teach skills and build the confidence in our members. The long-term aim is to make, market and sell the work created too”, says Summer, The Makers Group’s co-ordinator.

With craft, The Makers Group believe, we can all make an impact. They want to encourage Exeter residents to pick up a crochet hook and get crafting with them.

“We want to spread a smile to lift the spirits and change perspective of passers-by in and around Exeter. It’s one of the few things that we can all do at the moment, so join us in spreading a smile!”

To find out more about The Makers Group, organicARTS or how to ‘Spread a SMILE’, follow @organicARTSIde on Facebook, @organicARTS on Instagram or visit their website at www.organicarts.org.uk