Art by Post: Of Home and Hope

At a time of significant social isolation, Art by Post helped spark imagination in thousands of people.

Of Home and Hope was our first Art by Post project. It launched in May 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, to provide free creative activities to people across the UK who were at risk of social isolation, loneliness and digital exclusion.

The project commissioned 17 artists to make 11 activity booklets that were sent to over 4,500 participants with the help of numerous referral partners. More than 600 poems, drawings, paintings and mixed media works were posted back to us in response, and many were later documented in an online and a physical touring exhibition, as well as on film.

This exhibition celebrated the power and potential impact of creativity on people’s lives, health and wellbeing, and showed how an extraordinary and vibrant community came together at a time of crisis.

Having received over 600 creative responses from our Art by Post participants, with the support of the National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP), we brought a selection of these together to display in an exhibition.

The exhibition began here at the Southbank Centre in autumn 2021, before going on tour to other locations across England.

Prior to touring, Art by Post: Of Home and Hope was profiled in an international World Health Organisation exhibition at the UN in Geneva.

Art by Post was made possible due to support from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and our brilliant delivery partners: Age UK Camden, Age UK Oxfordshire, artsdepot, NAPA Arts in Care Homes, The Barn, Beacon Arts, Dulwich Picture Gallery, HOME Manchester, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Nightingale Hammerson, Philharmonia Orchestra, Platform and Sunderland Culture.

The Art by Post exhibition and national tour were made possible thanks to the support from the National Academy for Social Prescribing, with additional support from the Granada Foundation and Google Arts and Culture.