THE ART BANK

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The Art Bank initiative is dedicated to fostering a zero-waste, sustainable approach within the arts community. It involves collecting and recycling arts and crafts materials, along with stationary supplies, from organizations such as charity shops and corporate donors. These resources are then allocated to non-profit and community organizations that facilitate art projects for those in need, with a special emphasis on supporting asylum seekers and refugees. By repurposing these materials, the Art Bank promotes a circular economy, ensuring that valuable resources are reused rather than discarded. This initiative not only supports creative and therapeutic activities but also emphasizes environmental responsibility, helping to reduce waste and encourage sustainable practices in the arts. Through these efforts, the Art Bank contributes to both community enrichment and ecological stewardship.  

PILOT SCHEME

Since November 2023, WE RESTART has been engaging with asylum seekers in the London Borough of Brent, through dedicated art programmes for both adults and children. Initially, the challenge was securing sufficient supplies and ensuring the sustainability of these programmes due to limited funding. Upon reaching out to a local charity shop, we discovered that most of their items remained unsold, contributing significantly to waste. Recognizing this opportunity, we began collecting materials from six charity shops. These efforts have enabled us to fully support several initiatives: the Art Café, which serves 20 asylum-seeking adults on a weekly basis; the ArtVentures Clubs, providing in terms art experiences for 80 children; the HAF – Summer Camp for 30 asylum seeking children; and the A.R.I.A. Hub, an art programme designed for professional artists. This pilot not only addresses resource scarcity but also promotes environmental sustainability by reducing waste and repurposing materials. So far, we have been receiving approximately 10 large black bin bags of arts and crafts supplies and stationery materials on a weekly basis. These collections include a wide variety of items such as small canvasses, coloured pencils, pens, notebooks, paper, brushes, acrylic and oil paints, markers, stickers, erasers, inks, embroidery kits, and wool. Additionally, we have collected around 400 tote bags. Beyond these supplies, we have also accumulated over 500 soft toys, which we have distributed to asylum seeking children.