En Voyage_Issue#11_Flickbook

Arts for Impact is a registered charity and social enterprise
which uses creativity for a social purpose, and nowhere is
its work more visible or relevant than at the Princess Elizabeth
Hospital. Arts for Impact was born when Hugh Rose,
a commercial illustrator and sculptor, asked himself,
‘What is an artist’s responsibility to their community?
As Hugh explains, ‘Often artists are seen as people
who look at society from the outside and comment
on it, but I think there’s also a way of being an
artist where you try to integrate yourself into the
community, and Guernsey is a good place to do
that because we’re a small, well-defined community
and there’s a really wide range of people for such a
small area of land. And, looking at it from a business
perspective, there are a lot of resources here that
creative people aren’t really taking full advantage of.’
An example of those resources would be the high
level of entrepreneurial expertise present in Guernsey,
and AFI aims to lead the way in delivering social
outcomes by optimising the use of the creative
disciplines in the third sector. The team works
closely with professionals to develop artwork that
has a real, tangible function. David Ummels has
been mentoring the organisation since its inception,
and providing financial support via his organisation,
Art for Guernsey. Meriel Lenfestey has just been
appointed Chair of the Board and, looking forward
to their second year, she will provide her valuable
input in tackling all kinds of social needs, starting
with health and moving to poverty, crime, education
and beyond. The board also includes Helen Bonner-
Morgan, textile designer, who has delivered many of
her own successful creative projects under the AFI
banner. ‘I think that the smartest thing I have done
in recent years is to find the right people to help
me,’ says Hugh. ‘I’m incredibly lucky to have such a
strong company behind me in the form of Arts for
Impact, its board and its committee of experts, which
includes psychiatrist Dr Greg Lydall, Adam Stephens,
Head of Creative Faculty at Elizabeth College, and
Jock Pettitt of the Dandelion Foundation.’
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