Discovering Creative Voices by Essex Tamil Society

Essex Tamil Society (ETS) was established in 1998 and has been conducting weekly classes in Tamil Language and Culture for children from the age of 4 to 18 years at Newbury Park.

From Autumn 2023, ETS had the opportunity to work with Colours of Redbridge in organising a painting workshop for families. This was well received by the parents, teachers and students who participated in the workshop. Nearly 80 participants joined the activities and it proved to be a fun filled experience for the children. We received positive feedback and will be doing similar workshops in the future!

The children designed art posters based on stories, poetry, famous characters in South Asia (India and Sri Lanka) and about South Asian festivals: Pongal (Harvest festival).

Teachers and parents helped in the process of creating the arts and posters.

Our children, volunteers, teachers, and parents were excited by this opportunity and wanted to build on this experience; they worked together and came up with several ideas and suggestions such as knitting, sewing, yoga classes etc., for the future.

We learnt about the We Can Create funding from Colours of Redbridge and applied for our project to produce a Cultural Show this April. We are working to organise a series of dance, yoga, and art workshops from February; more details will be shared via Colours of Redbridge website, and we hope to see you all soon.

The best part is the facilitation support that ETS received from Colours of Redbridge to secure the funding for the Cultural show event. The Colours of Redbridge team including our “Community Engagement Officer” are friendly, approachable, and continuously working with us in identifying how we could improve our current activities and expand networking opportunities with other communities in Redbridge area.

We have seen the success stories of various community projects that were facilitated by “Colours of Redbridge”. These projects have had significant positive impact to the people living in Redbridge. The wide range of training programs offered by Colours of Redbridge will help us to build our organisation. We aspire to bring awareness to the different communities in Redbridge about the richness of the South-East Asian culture by showcasing our stories in the form of arts, music, and dance, emphasising the need to live in harmony.

Colours for Redbridge support a wide range of initiatives to improve the quality of life to individuals and communities living in Redbridge. The initiatives and support from Colours of Redbridge provides an opportunity for people to co-create and carry the legacy of art and other programs to the wider community in Redbridge. Going forward, we want to attract more people to get involved in Essex Tamil Society. As well as help young adults have a better understanding of our heritage and the cultural values. Essex Tamil Society are providing the space and support to channel their activities for the greater good of the society that we live in.