Your Art Connect CIC

03/02/2026

During 2025 Blystra Arts received funding from Great Western Railways Customer and Community Improvement Fund to run a project in Newquay called Stories from...

02/02/2026

Getting very close to completion on this project now.
Thank you to all our volunteers for putting in the hours and keeping the energy high.

22/01/2026

Celebrating one of our own – Malachi

From the very first day he walked into YAC, Mal made an epic entrance and an unforgettable impression 🚨
An artist and creative through and through, Malachi brings energy, ideas and heart into everything he does — from paint on walls to people he inspires.

He’s grown from YAC participant to volunteer, and is now a mural-painting, gazebo-building, tech-fixing legend.
(If something needs sorting, Malachi is genuinely our first point of call 😄)

He’s also Marie’s son, which makes this moment even more special for our YAC family 💛

We are incredibly proud to share that Malachi has been awarded a British Citizen Award – Medal of Honour for Services to Education (BCAe) 👏✨

Living with Tourette syndrome, Malachi has used his lived experience to build understanding, challenge stigma, and create real change — delivering awareness training and helping professionals better support people with Tourette syndrome and autism.

This is the impact of lived experience being taken seriously.
This is creativity, courage, and inclusion in action.
This is what happens when we choose understanding over assumptions 💛

Huge congratulations, Malachi — we are so proud of you 👏✨

19/01/2026

So while Siobhan, Eleri and Marie are painting a huge 65ft mural in Perranporth, our fellow Director Graham Cullis Artist is yet again blowing us all away with the fantastic mental health initiatives he has helped grow across the UK

For those that don’t know, Graham had this bonkers idea last year to take a van on the road across the UK, painting his way around the country, while bringing local communities together. In each town he stops, he sets up silent discos , soup kitchens, mental health swimming circles, and paints a painting with the community. There is always dancing, singing, and downright craziness!

Each pairing that he sells he is donating rhe profits totally back to Your Art Connect CIC! And this allows us to continue to run community art groups, mental health targeted workshops and fun activities like “paint like Banksy” and “paint like Bob Ross” sessions.

This beautiful human is bonkers. He’s fun, he’s kind, he’s intelligent and thoughtful. And he’s doing this for us while building communities across the UK to promote positive mental health and wellbeing. Simply because he is just awesome.

It was part way through his tour that Graham said “why should kids have all the fun” and Your Art Connect was reborn from Youth Art Connect! So now anyone aged 11-infinity can attend our sessions (and we still do pop ups for the little ones so keep an eye on the website)

Your Art Connect CIC are now providing the therapeutic benefits of art across Cornwall and beyond for thousands of people to create community cohesion and kindness.

What more could you need in life?

Check out his timetable and see where he is going next. Follow him and see if you can get him to pop into your town and bring the sunshine wherever he goes.

Just no more washing with mayonnaise Graham….

Heinz it’s about time you gave this guy a sponsorship for the sauce promotion!

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1G8p99ktHJ/?mibextid=wwXIfr

18/01/2026

We had an amazing time! Our Graffiti workshop with 10 young artists from Youth Group was a hit. They did an incredible job cutting out stencils and spraying their canvas. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!!

15/01/2026

A sneak peek of our 60ft mural project at Tide and Taste cafe Perranporth.

15/01/2026

Work in progress- coming along nicely 😃

03/01/2026

We are back at our home at The Nook Wellbeing + Creative Space this week.
Home Ed group starts again on Tuesday.
Adult Groups Wednesday evening.
Afterschool Art group Thursday.
Messy Desk Co Work space Friday.

17/12/2025

Can I ask any friends that have young people in CORNWALL aged 16-25 (particularly neurodivergent) with SEND that can answer the attached survey for us? It’s to gain an insight into how art can impact mental health for SEND and Neurodivergent young people.

If you work with young people in any setting that fits these parameters could you pass it on?

It really will help with future funding for Your Art Connect CIC

Pretty please with a cherry on top

Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.

15/12/2025

Today was about speed art, getting creative, and listening 💛

We spent the day with neurodivergent young people exploring different art forms, sharing thoughts, and showing us what helps them feel calm, confident, and supported.
What we heard again and again was simple but powerful:
✨ small groups
✨ no pressure
✨ music
✨ being listened to

Art gave space for voices that don’t always get heard — without forcing words, labels, or rules.

Thank you to everyone who came, created, shared, and trusted us with your thoughts. This is why we do what we do.