Autumn at Blessings in Action: Street View Arts, Wellbeing Workshops and Exciting News
As the weather begins to cool and Weston-super-Mare starts turning beautiful shades of brown, orange and yellow, there is something rather lovely about stepping into autumn.
Perhaps we are noticing our surroundings even more this year because of our Street View Arts project. Through photography, we have been intentionally slowing down, looking around and noticing buildings, streets and little details that we might normally walk straight past.
And there is a wellbeing message in that too.
Taking a walk, noticing what is around us and giving ourselves a little space away from the pressures of everyday life can be a simple way of supporting both our physical and emotional wellbeing.
So, as we move into October, here is a little update on what has been happening at Blessings in Action CIC – and what is coming next.
Street View Arts Officially Launched!
September marked a very special milestone as we officially launched our Street View Arts project, supported using public funding by Arts Council England.
We are incredibly grateful for their support, which is enabling us to bring this year-long creative community project to life.
The official launch took place live from Wave Community Radio, where we had the opportunity to talk about Street View Arts, what we hope to achieve and the journey our participants will be taking over the coming months.
We were delighted to be joined by Deputy Mayor Cllr Caroline Reynolds, who officially cut the ribbon to mark the launch of the project.
The morning also gave us an opportunity to support one of our community partners. Wave Community Radio has recently moved into its new premises at WE ARE SUPER, so alongside our Street View Arts launch, we were very happy for the occasion to also provide a little soft re-launch moment for the radio station in its new home.
For us, community partnership is about finding opportunities to support one another, so it was lovely to be able to celebrate both milestones together.
There was plenty of conversation, laughter and even some rather yummy cupcakes to help us celebrate!
If you missed the live interview, you can watch it back on our YouTube channel:
And while you are there, please consider subscribing to our channel.
Growing our YouTube audience will also help us as we work towards the future Street View Arts exhibition at Weston Museum, where we hope to broadcast elements of the exhibition and enable even more people to experience the project.
📸Seeing Weston-super-Mare Through Different Eyes
Our first Street View Arts photography workshops have been a wonderful start to the creative side of the project.
Together, we explored Weston-super-Mare and began noticing some of the beautiful architecture, buildings, streets and details around our town.
It is amazing how different somewhere can look when we deliberately slow down and really pay attention.
We also had an unexpected bonus on both workshop days when we happened to bump into our celebrated local historian, Cllr John Crockford-Hawley, who very kindly shared some of his knowledge about several of the buildings and streets we were photographing.
Our workshops therefore became not only creative, but educational too.
Alongside learning photography tips and techniques, participants were discovering more about the town they were capturing through their cameras.
📸Photography Continues Into October
There is still more photography to come before we move into the next stage of Street View Arts.
Our remaining photography workshops take place on:
Wednesday 30 September – Weston ArtspaceThursday 1 October – NST HubWednesday 7 October – Weston ArtspaceThursday 8 October – NST Hub
Places are free, but registration is suggested (so we are able to get the refreshments right), but you can just turn up too.
View our upcoming workshops and book your place:https://www.blessingsinaction.org/event-list
After these sessions, we will take a few weeks' break from workshops while we prepare and print participants' photographs ready for the next exciting stage.
✂️Next Stop: Zine Making
From 11 November 2026, Street View Arts will move into its Zine Making stage.
The photographs created during our photography workshops will become part of the materials participants can work with as we continue developing ideas and building towards the project's final creative pieces and exhibition.
Street View Arts is designed as a journey, with each creative stage building upon what came before it, and we are very excited to see how the photographs begin transforming into something completely new.
If you would like to join the Zine Making workshops, keep an eye on our Events page as booking becomes available:
🧠CALM TOGETHER: Understanding the Stress & Addiction Loop
Alongside our creative projects, our CALM TOGETHER programme thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund continues to provide free opportunities to explore stress, anxiety and emotional wellbeing.
Our October psychology workshop looks at:
The Stress & Addiction Loop
Tuesday 20 October 2026 8:00pm Online
Book your free place:https://www.blessingsinaction.org/event-details/calm-together-the-stress-addiction-loop-free-workshop-limited-spaces-booking-required-1
When people hear the word addiction, thoughts may immediately turn to alcohol or drugs.
But addictive or compulsive behaviours can appear in many different areas of our lives.
It might be constantly scrolling through social media, shopping, food, gaming or another behaviour we begin turning to for comfort, distraction or relief.
During this session, we will explore how these patterns can develop, what may keep the cycle going and practical approaches that can help us manage our behaviours differently.
Importantly, this is a learning space.
Nobody will be expected to share personal experiences or disclose private information.
You do not even need to switch your camera on.
Simply join us, listen and learn, and take away whatever information or tools feel useful and applicable to you.
💆Our Massage Sessions Are Taking a Little Break
Our CALM TOGETHER massage sessions are temporarily taking a break while our lovely Lizzie prepares for the arrival of her baby.
We are sure our community will join us in wishing Lizzie and her family a beautiful and very special time together.
We are looking forward to welcoming the massage sessions back in January.
🙏 A Welcoming Space to Explore Faith
Our weekly online Bible Study sessions with Pastor Boat continue every Thursday evening from 8:30pm until 9:30pm.
The next session is:
Thursday 1 October 2026 8:30pm Online
Register here:https://www.blessingsinaction.org/event-details/online-pastoral-wellbeing-space-with-pastor-boat-2026-10-01-20-30
Once registered, participants will receive the joining link, which remains the same for the weekly Thursday sessions.
These sessions are not only for people who already identify as Christians.
Perhaps you are curious about faith. Perhaps you have questions. Perhaps you simply want to listen, explore or enjoy some encouraging conversation.
There is no pressure and no obligation.
If you would prefer some face-to-face pastoral support or spiritual direction, you are also welcome to contact us. Where appropriate, we can help connect you with local ministers who may be able to offer support.
🏆Blessings in Action Reaches the Female Business Awards Finals
October is also bringing something rather special for our team.
Blessings in Action CIC has been selected as a finalist in TWO categories at the Female Business Awards:
Services to Local Communities Diversity, Equality & Inclusion
The Awards Gala takes place** on 15 October 2026**.
For a relatively young organisation, being recognised for the work happening within our community means a great deal to us.
Whatever happens on the evening, we are grateful for the recognition and, most importantly, grateful to every participant, volunteer, contractor, funder, partner, supporter and organisation who has played a part in our journey.
So please keep us in your thoughts, wish us luck, and for those who pray, we would be very grateful for your prayers too.
💛Thank You for Being Part of It
From photography and creativity to psychology, pastoral wellbeing and community support, everything we do at Blessings in Action comes back to one thing: people.
We are particularly grateful to Arts Council England for supporting Street View Arts and helping us create opportunities for people to connect, create, learn and see their community through different eyes.
And thank you to everyone who attends our activities, tells others about our work, partners with us, shares our posts or simply cheers us on.
There is much more to come.
Marta & the Blessings in Action CIC Team
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