High Street SHED, Swansea

General information

High Street SHED
Addressing challenges to health and wellbeing caused by social isolation, while sharing skills with a wider creative community

Once up and running, High Street SHED will provide a relaxed, friendly place to do something practical, creative or social. It will offer plenty of space, tools and resources to do all of these things, or to just have a good natter over a cuppa!

Evolving from the ‘Men's Sheds’ phenomenon and inspired by the ‘Maker Movement’ revolution, High Street SHED aims to address challenges to health and wellbeing caused by social isolation, in Swansea’s adult population. In addition we are aiming to foster relationships between those with traditional or contemporary maker skills and the large community of creative practitioners we have in the Swansea area.

Background:
While High Street SHED is partly based on the Men's Shed phenomenon originating in Australia designed to tackle social isolation in older men, I would argue that the Men’s Shed concept itself be gently challenged with the aim of encouraging shedding to be a more accommodating prospect for all. In practice however it will still come down to the requirements identified by a needs assessment of a specific community. This approach is acknowledged in the policy of the Australian Men’s Shed Association, ‘AMSA recognises that not all sheds are exclusively for men and that some sheds choose to call themselves ‘Community Sheds’ as these sheds may be open to female members[!] The decision to have female members is entirely a local one’, (AMSA Handbook, 2015).

In addition to moving away from the ‘men only’ image associated with Men’s Sheds, the HigherStreet proposal for High Street SHED focuses on the relationship between artist and artisan. I would therefore like to see High Street SHED set up more along the lines of 'makerspaces' but with an emphasis on art and craft, fostering relationships between those with traditional or contemporary maker skills and the large community of creative practitioners we have in the Swansea area.

M. Stephenson, the HigherStreet International, August 2016 (revised 02 Nov 2016)

High Street SHED is HigherStreet project. The HigherStreet International (HI) is a proto-organisation involved in ground-up placemaking* experienced through contemporary arts and culture.

*For a definition of placemaking see https://goo.gl/IUYtgV

For more information about High Street SHED or the HigherStreet International please send a private message via this page or use the contact details below:

The HigherStreet International (HI)
Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom
info@higherstreet.org.uk
+44 7952 863318
higherstreet.org.uk