Covid: Newport and Merthyr Tydfil projects showcase lockdown arts and crafts

Creative communities have turned lockdown on its head by harnessing online platforms to make art more accessible to everyone.

Some people have said that although lockdown has taken a lot of creative social spaces online, it has not stopped people getting involved.

A continuing study has found people have turned to arts as "a form of coping".

One woman said being part of a group had encouraged her to "keep going" whilst under restrictions.

One group who moved online for lockdown is made up of over-60s who are part of a project run by The Reality Theatre Company in Newport.

The aim is to tackle loneliness and isolation through creative projects.

They have been organising a pantomime and a summer carnival over video calls.

Jane Morgan is one of those involved and said it had been "like an anchor to hold on to" during lockdown.

She said: "It's given me the impetus to keep going and think 'oh well, we're not going to be here forever, there are things to look forward to'."

Katey Warran is a research fellow in social science at University College London and said lockdown had encouraged people to turn to creative projects.

She has been part of the team running the Covid-19 Social Study which includes an continuing survey of more than 70,000 people in the UK during the pandemic.

It has included questions about engagement in arts and creativity.

"There's a range of different evidence which shows that art activities can prompt social mechanisms which are linked in with better health and well-being outcomes," she said.

She also said there was evidence the types of people engaging with art had changed during the pandemic, with groups like parents, people experiencing mental health difficulties and those from minority ethnic backgrounds becoming more likely to get involved.

"People are turning to the arts as a form of support, a form of coping, to regulate their moods," she said.

For some, the community aspect of creativity has just been an added extra, such as with Thomas Llewellyn from Pant.

For the graffiti artist known as Tee2Sugars, the pandemic brought an end to his job as a sign maker but he has used it as a chance to express the situation of lockdown, painting colourful murals that include urging people to wear masks and help the NHS.

He said: "I've worked since I was 17 and then to be told they don't have a job, at the time, was very bleak."

He was inspired to turn his creative skills to street art, and began painting murals on boards at his home in Merthyr Tydfil, leading to paid work.

"When I got that first commission, that was the catalyst for everything to become bigger and better," he said.

The artist has now painted across the south Wales valleys, and said one of the most positive things to come out of it had been the reaction of people who see his work.

"They've always got a kind word to say," he said.

He believes people have seen it as something positive to focus on during challenging times.

He said what he heard the most was "I'm brightening up the valley, giving different people something different to look at [which] is always something I'm really proud of".

While art can be about escapism, much of the creativity done in the pandemic has been geared towards processing the difficulties people are facing.

That is the case for the Coffee and Laughs social group from Maindee in Newport.

When their regular meetings were cancelled, they moved online.

They also decided to take up a big creative project - as part of the Lost Connections community art project by artist and curator, Naz Syed, they made a quilt reflecting life in lockdown.

"It helped me to put my thoughts about how I felt during that period," said Rahila Hamid.

"I personally also felt privileged given that opportunity to be part of [it]. I think it brought us together."

Staying in touch on video calls, instant messaging and on the phone, the group worked together to make a lasting legacy of this time.

"It will remind us how it was during Covid and how people got together and kept each other going," she said.