WELCOME TO COOLTAN ARTS E-BULLETIN DECEMBER 2010

Events take place at CoolTan Arts Unit B 237 Walworth Rd SE171RL unless otherwise stated.
www.cooltanarts.org.uk www.afunnyfarm.org.uk info@cooltanarts.org.uk
Tel: 020 7701 2696

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY – DON’T MISS THESE EVENTS

7 Dec: CoolTan Arts Christmas stall at East Street market – ALL DAY
10 Dec, 3pm-4pm: CoolTan Open Participant Feedback Meeting
10 Dec, 4pm-7pm: CoolTan Christmas Party
18 Dec, 12noon: CoolTan Arts Largactyl Shuffle

UPCOMING EVENTS
CoolTan Arts Christmas stall at East Street market: 7th December ALL DAY!
Come and visit the CoolTan Arts market stall in East Street market on Tuesday 7th December. We’ll be there
all day, selling CoolTan items, art works made by our participants and possibly even some tasty
cakes… We’d love to hear from any volunteers who are able to come and help out on the stall for an hour or
two on the day. But we’d also just love to see you there: please visit us in East Street Market and say hello!
To find out more, contact Clara on 020 7701 2696 or email clara@cooltanarts.org.uk. We look forward to
seeing you then! *weather permitting – if it’s very cold, we’ll cancel*

CoolTan Arts Open Participant Feedback Meeting: 10th Dec 3pm-4pm *important*
Please join us to discuss some important issues affecting all CoolTan participants and have your say. We
need to your ideas and your feedback! Tea, Coffee and refreshments provided. And then stay for our
Christmas Party. Get involved, join the fun!
For more information please contact Rosie at rosie@cooltanarts.org.uk

CoolTan Arts Christmas Party: 10th Dec 4pm-7pm

CoolTan Arts would like to invite you to our Christmas Party on 10 Dec
2010, 4pm – 7pm. We’d be delighted if you could join us and celebrate our
achievements from the last year.
Please bring a dish of food to share and a small gift (to the value of £1) to
put under the tree for secret Santa.
We hope you will be able to attend our Christmas Party. All welcome, Feel
free to bring a guest, friends and family. We look forward to seeing you.
Please RSVP to info@cooltanarts.org.uk or call 020 77012696. More info
and updates on http://www.cooltanarts.org.uk/.

CoolTan Arts Largactyl Shuffle: Christmas Walk

18th Dec, 12noon at Tate Modern
Celebrate the festive season and get into the Christmas spirit with
CoolTan Arts Largactyl Shuffle walk on 18th December.
Meet us at the Tate Modern and join us for a fun guided cultural walk,
looking at 'Mad Art' and famous artists who have lived at The Bethlem
Hospital and the Maudsley!
Please wear festive Red & White Hats, warm clothes and bring Bells!!!
This month we are researching. The walk finishes at Maudsley
Hospital where we will meet Father Xmas, have mince pies, and Carol
Singers! We will stop for coffee on route to keep warm.
Come along, learn new things about Southwark and its history of
mental health, meet like-minded people and make friends.
Walkers meet at 12noon at the main entrance of Tate Modern and walk to Maudsley Hospital. Call CoolTan
Arts on 07985658443 if you cannot find the group of walkers on the day.

Don’t forget, our fundraising page is still open, please sponsor our walkers on
http://www.justgiving.com/cooltanartslargactylwalkers and help CoolTan to get the money to buy a
new building. Support us to help more people in these difficult times.
RECENT NEWS
CoolTan Poetry Book
With the great success of our Thursday morning poetry group came an amazing poetry book. An Anthropology
of CoolTan artists’ words, thoughts and feelings, with sales going so well we thought it would be great to tell
more of you about it.
Get a copy now for friends and family, it’s a lovely Christmas Present. The books are now available on
Amazon http://amzn.to/bFZcxZ or contact CoolTan on clara@cooltanarts.org.uk or 02077012696.

The Mental Health Recovery Star at CoolTan Arts

CoolTan Arts is pleased to welcome Sahara Hassan as the new Recovery Star Worker, whose role will be
delivering the Recovery Star on a one-to-one training and peer-support basis.
CoolTan Arts and Mental Health Providers Forum are working together to support existing CoolTan workshop
participants at CoolTan Arts with their recovery. The aim is to support their needs from a wide diversity of
providers. The Recovery Star looks at 10 elements which participants feel they need support with or aim to
improve on. The Recovery Star works through the ladder of change which is about managing your mental
health issues and any other areas which participants find hard to manage. The aim is to empower participants
by finding a pathway to their recovery and manage their life with as much or as little support as they feel they
need.
The Recovery Star won’t be the solution to all problems but a pathway to work on. This will allow participants
to get a clear picture of areas they need support with.
If you are interested, please contact Sahara at CoolTan Arts, call CoolTan Arts on 020 77012696 or email
saharacooltanarts@gmail.com.

South London Press with Shell Our Heroes awards

CoolTan Arts received a Community Project award from the South London
Press with Shell ‘Our Heroes’ campaign on 16th November 2010. We are
pleased our work and positive contribution to the local community has been
recognised and will continue to support some of the most vulnerable people in
the local community.
Read more on our website - http://www.cooltanarts.org.uk.

Image description (image from South London Press) –

Community Project: From left, judge Donnachadh McCarthy, runner-up Oz
Bayldon, winner Vinnie OConnell, Michelle Baharier of runner-up CoolTan Arts
and judge Charles Bailey.

RADAR people of the year awards 2010

We are proud to announce that Michelle Baharier and CoolTan Arts have both been shortlisted for the RADAR
awards. It’s a real testament to the years of commitment, dedication and hard work put into the organisation by
everyone involved.
CoolTan Arts has been shortlisted in the arts category alongside Bobby Baker, Bobby Baker’s Daily Life Ltd. (2
Nominations), Cirque Nova, Lizzie Emeh and The Other Side Gallery.
And Michelle Baharier has been shortlisted as Person of the Year: sponsored by IHG alongside Anne Novis,
Dr. Nasser Siabi, Helen Chipchase, Ian Martin, Nicola Martin, Parmi Dheensa, Stephen Brookes, Wycliffe
Noble.
The RADAR awards, presented by the UK’s largest disability campaigns network, celebrate people and
organisations that have made real strides towards equality, empowerment and inclusion for disabled people in
the UK. The winners were announced at a black tie dinner and presentation ceremony at Evolution, Battersea
Park on 29 November, hosted by Cerrie Burnell, BBC TV presenter, actress and author.

Dulwich competition
CoolTan Arts participants entered artwork for the recent Salvator Rosa art competition after visiting the
exhibiton at Dulwich Picture Gallery. The competition is hosted by the Friends of Dulwich Picture Gallery as
part of Dulwich OnView.
The images are available on our flickr http://bit.ly/gYu7eh or facebook http://on.fb.me/fVWyMS.
A summary of the competition can be found on the Dulwich OnView website at:
http://dulwichonview.org.uk/rosa-art-competition/. Please check it out and vote for your favourite CoolTan
entry. The competition Flickr gallery can be found at: http://bit.ly/focXqw.
WORKSHOPS AND ACTIVITIES – OPEN TO PEOPLE EXPERIENCING MENTAL DISTRESS
New workshops!! *open to everyone*
We have a new set of workshops, open to all! Email Rosie on rosie@cooltanarts.org.uk or call us on 020
77012696 for more details.

Theatre creation: Mondays 6pm-8pm – only £6 (concessions) or £8 for a 2-hour session

Meditation: Tuesday 1pm-2pm - donation of £1
Movement therapy: 2.15pm-3.15pm - donation of £1
Card-making: Thursdays: 11am-1pm – free, cards will be sold to raise money for CoolTan

Food For Mood workshops: January – March 2011 *free and open to everyone*
On Tuesday afternoons, starting January 11th, CoolTan Arts will be running workshops around the production
of the Food For Mood cookbook. Everyone is welcome, and there will be a variety of artistic and practical
activities relating to books and food: writing, design, arts, interviewing, research, editing and eating! People
taking part will be contributing to decisions about the cookbook that is to be published later in 2011.
So save your Tuesday afternoons in the New Year… And if you’d like to help decide exactly what workshops
we offer, or just want to hear more, please email elizabeth@cooltanarts.co.uk or call Jade on 020 7701 2696.

Self-Advocacy Training Skills Programme

Self-advocacy skills training can assist in knowing and accessing your rights and getting your
voice heard in many situations.

This month further practical ways of self-advocacy coupled with peer support. We have a large-
scale event planned for mid-January - personalisation and you! Look out for details.

Workshops continue: Wednesday mornings from 11am, Thursday afternoons from 2pm at CoolTan Arts unless
otherwise advertised.

Thursday afternoon, 2nd December, 2pm - 5pm:

Invitation to find out more about Recovery, the Recovery Star, begin your own **Recovery Star** plan
Venue: CoolTan Arts - (weather dependent - please check on the day).
With trainers from Mental Health Provider Forum: Helen Blacker and Yetunde Onifade. 16 places maximum
available - please let us know if you're intending to come, thank you!

Further Self-advocacy skills training topics for December: Introduction to Peer Advocacy
NHS + Social Care: Complaints and Tribunals; plus on-going ‘Make me Smile’ work.

More details and updates available at CoolTan Arts, or phone, email or write to us and ask for Phil Ruthen,
Advocacy Training Coordinator.
Telephone: 020 7701 2696 or

Mobile: 0798 565 8443  phil@cooltanarts.org.uk  info@cooltanarts.org.uk
News at: http://www.cooltanarts.org.uk/advocacy-2/ and http://afunnyfarm.org.uk/

Join a regular workshop at CoolTan

Do you need to get out of the house? Come along to one of CoolTan’s workshops to meet people, learn
new skills, have fun, and break out of isolation with like-minded people. Our workshops are open to any
adults experiencing mental distress with access to direct payments or Community Care Plan CPA. Please
contact CoolTan Arts on 020 77012696 or email referrals@cooltanarts.org.uk for more details or to make a
booking.
Workshop Timetable
Day Morning Afternoon Evening
Visual Arts 1-3pm
Mondays Volunteering Batik 2-4pm Volunteering
Sculpture 3.30-5.30pm
Basic / Intermediate IT 12-4pm (please book)
Yoga, Meditation and de-stress 1pm-2pm
Tuesdays Drawing 11am-1pm Movement Therapy: 2pm-3pm Volunteering
Photoshop 2pm-4pm
Video & filming 4-6pm
Visual arts women only 2-4pm Web design 6-8pm
Wednesdays Volunteering
Knitting 4pm-6pm Volunteering
Poetry 11am-1pm
Thursday Largactyl Shuffle workshop 2-4 pm Volunteering
Card making 11am-1pm
Friday Visual Arts 10.30am-12.30pm Visual Arts 1-3pm N/A
rd
Saturday’s N/A Largactyl Shuffle Walk 12noon, every 3 Saturday N/A

VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES
Why volunteer? – Need help getting back into work, want to give back to the community
Volunteers do a wonderful job and CoolTan couldn’t exist without the work they do. Volunteering at CoolTan
Arts can help you gain confidence and new skills, get work experience, make new friends.
Volunteer opportunities are available every day. If you would like to help us, please speak to Asia at CoolTan,
contact her on 020 7701 2696, email volunteers@cooltanarts.org.uk or check the website
http://cooltanarts.org.uk/category/voluntary-position/ for more details.

Opportunity of the month: Events volunteers and photographers urgently needed!

We need volunteers that can help with the stalls and the Christmas party – promoting the events, setting up
materials at the stalls, talking to people, handing out leaflets etc. We also need photographers that can come
and take pictures for us. If you are available, please get in touch. Speak to Asia at CoolTan, contact her on
020 7701 2696, email volunteers@cooltanarts.org.uk.

Services for Health and Social Care Organisations, mental health practitioners, GPs, social
workers, key workers…
CoolTan Arts can work with GPs and other health professionals to meet the social care needs of their clients.
We are very keen to meet you and your teams and tell you more about the services CoolTan Arts offers.
If you are a community mental health practitioner and you would like to refer clients, please contact us on 020
77012696 or email referrals@cooltanarts.org.uk.
If you are interested in finding out more about us and how we can work with your organisation, or want a
CoolTan representative at your team meetings to give an introduction to CoolTan, please contact us on 020
77012696 or email rosie@cooltanarts.org.uk.

Opening times over XMas

CoolTan Arts is closed over the Xmas Period from the 18th December and we open
again on 4th January. CoolTan’s staff need a break and some rest.
Big Thank You to everyone for your hard work, energy and enthusiasm.
We wish you all the best, and look forward to seeing you in 2011.

Last, but not least, a big thanks to our donors, funders, supports, and to all the people who give their time and
energy to CoolTan Arts and make what we do possible.
CoolTan Arts believes mental wellbeing is enhanced by the power of creativity.
We are proud to have as Patrons: Maggi Hambling, Sokari Douglas Camp, Ali Smith, Clare
Allan and Rosemary Shrager

Unit B 237 Walworth Rd London SE17 1RL T: 0207 701 2696 M: 0798 565 8443
W: www.cooltanarts.org.uk E: info@cooltanarts.org.uk
CoolTan Arts Registered charity number 1064231 Company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales reg. 3244552