Who I Am and What I Do

Hello my name is Amy Powell. I am passionate about helping others to make art and have been running community art classes since 2015.

I believe that to get better at something you need to enjoy doing it. That is why I create learning environments where people feel at ease, have fun and are valued.

The joy of running long term projects is they give the opportunity for participants to get to know each other and deepen their art practice. For some the classes provide a sense of belonging, structure and stability. They are uplifting and help people see themselves as creative beings. This can be particularly helpful when they are navigating life challenges.

I am passionate about being inclusive and widening access to art. My approach has been inspired by courses I have attended in art, teaching, enterprise and wellbeing as well as working in mental health and volunteering for arts and health organisations. These include Studio Upstairs, Milestones Expressions programme, Creative Shift and Core Arts.

I have worked independently and in partnership. After graduating from our Fine Art degree, myself and Rosa Hewitt set up a drop in community art class at BASE a community centre in Easton in Bristol. This ran from September 2015 till July 2019. After which I ran an art class at Hamilton House in Central Bristol from December 2019 till March 2020. At this point my face to face work stopped in response to COVID restrictions and my work went online.

In May 2020 I supported St Mungo’s to set up an online art class as part of their Recovery College and volunteered with the group till March 2023.

The Art on Zoom over 50’s group began in September 2020 and ran as a partnership project with Age UK Bristol till November 2024. The members were keen to continue so I now run the group independently.

From the success of those groups I set up my own adult online art group in November 2020. It now runs on Tuesday evenings and is called Make Art on Tuesdays .This has been attended by people living in Bristol, other areas of the UK, Europe and America. We are exploring ways to exhibit and sell the work made.

From Jan 2024 till December 2024 I ran a face to face art class called Downend Let’s Make Art at Lincombe Barn in North East Bristol. I am now looking for organisations to work with to run face to face art projects as well as continuing to work online.

Please get in touch if you would like to know more about my projects or are interested in working together.