When Neha Gupta moved to Aintree in December, she knew very little English or other local residents.
That all changed when she joined Welcome Studios, an art group in Aintree hosted by Edmund Rice Community Services that aims to provide a social art group for all abilities.
Ms Gupta is now leading a sustainable art workshop and said the group has improved her English speaking confidence.
She moved from India to Aintree in December to be closer to her daughter, who encouraged her to join the group to help improve her English.
“Before this art group, I used to spend time playing [mobile] games, but when I came here, [I] [now] spend time doing research about art, what I can make,” Ms Gupta said.
She said that the group has helped her to gain English speaking confidence and she can now communicate what she is looking for when shopping at a local supermarket, for example.
Ms Gupta said the idea for her sustainable art workshop came from looking for a way to reuse paper waste and create pieces without needing to spend too much on other material.
She suggested the idea of using recycled magazine pages – which are then cut into strips and painted – as part of Welcome Studio’s month of upcycled art to celebrate Earth Day on April 22.
While already experienced with knitting, embroidery, and crocheting, Ms Gupta said she has learnt “a lot of new things” through the group.
Welcome Studios Aintree meets each Wednesday from 10am–12.30pm at The Scout Hall, 15 Elmhurst Drive, Aintree and the sessions are free.
Details: ercs.org.au/welcome-studios/
