Windswept Workshops was established in December 2019 by writers Erin Gilbey and Gabriella Songui, with the ambition of reinvesting their creative skills back into the Birmingham community to give everyone access to the arts. They worked through the pandemic, alongside third director and skilled administrator Charlotte Hooper, to bring creativity into the hearts of communities through their online creative writing community, puppetry workshops, photography exhibits, and community art displays.
Motivated by a belief that storytelling lays foundations for self-efficacy and empowerment in participants of all backgrounds, they partnered with organisations including Sense, Thinktank and Open Theatre to bring their work to a diverse array of people. To date, they have received a total of £25,000 in funding from seven different funders. They are also involved with social activism through their Selly Oak Library Campaign and through their workshops at Climate Justice events. As they move towards the end of their second year, they are looking to work with corporate partners to foster strong mental health and creative skills in employees, as well as working with educational institutions to put creativity back into an increasingly exam-focused curriculum.
You can find out more about Windswept Workshops' recent projects on their website, Facebook and Twitter