East Leeds Gift Exchange

This summer, residents of Mabgate, Lincoln Green and Burmantofts took part in a secret Gift Exchange. Each person was paired with a ‘match’ who they would create a crafty gift for. Every participant made and received an art-based gift from their match.

Organised by Our Space and East Street Arts, the Gift Exchange connected people across East Leeds through creativity. We took part by creating writing prompts (based on our workshops) which were included in the packs delivered to local people.

Here are some examples of what they created from our prompts:

How did the Gift Exchange go down?

Several residents got in touch to tell us what they thought of the Gift Exchange:

 

“It was nice because you have no idea what’s inside, it’s a nice surprise!” – Violet, Burmantofts

 

“I feel so excited when my gift cards arrived, only by looking at the envelope I knew that it will be a great masterpiece of art when I finally opened it and I see this beautiful artwork with all the details, I love it immediately. the woman in the drawing looks a bit like me !!! She enjoys being in nature; she feels free and connected with the elements” – Marlene, Lincoln Green

All images and quotes courtesy of Our Space. For more information about the Gift Exchange, visit East Street Arts.