Marginalised and underserved communities will be valued

‘The RENA Initiative presents: The WoWC (Women of White City)’ project began as a programme of painting workshops and art exhibitions on White City Estate for women – and gender identifying women – who are older, social isolated or unemployed from underserved and marginalised communities.

These workshops give intergenerational participants a safe space to make new friends, manage stress, feel visible and valued, improve their mental health and wellbeing, and share their life stories through the medium of painting.

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we launched ‘The RENA Initiative presents: The WoWC Create&Connect’ project to deliver online and offline workshops remotely and provide additional support services. Thanks to the kind generosity of W12Together, Imperial Health Charity, The Health Lottery West and The National Lottery Community Fund, we expanded capacity to support women from marginalised and underserved communities across London who have been disproportionately impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.  We were delighted to continue this project, post pandemic, by delivering hybrid visual art workshops and befriending outings with the support of  Hammersmith United Charities and West London NHS Trust’s Mental Health grant.

In 2024, we enhanced our Create&Connect project by introducing a health-focused component to meet the needs of our beneficiaries, all while preserving the project’s spirit of fun, connection and creativity. This initiative, known as HeArty (Health+Arty), incorporates health themes into each workshop, making them both engaging and relevant to our community. The project is proudly supported by the Compassionate Communities grant from Imperial Health Charity. You can find out more by visiting www.imperialcharity.org.uk