Let’s Talk About Art & Mental Wellbeing- Why I Think We Need The Little Makers Club
If you’ve followed my work for a while, you might know a bit of my story already. But for anyone new here, I’ll keep it simple.
For a long time, I walked away from art. Anxiety, self-doubt, and the pressures of life made me feel like it wasn’t something I could pursue. I loved to create, but I couldn’t see how to make space for it. After years away from it, I slowly found my way back, and it changed everything. Art became a lifeline. A way to process, reflect, and reconnect with who I was.
You can read more about that part of my journey in this interview with Armagh I, but at the heart of it all, that experience has shaped how I view creativity, especially when it comes to our children.
The idea for The Little Makers Club actually started when my partner and I were looking for summer art activities for our own kids. They’re young, curious, and creative and we thought surely there’d be something nearby. But there wasn’t. Plenty of great sports camps and activity clubs, but nothing centred around creativity, art, or storytelling. And I knew we couldn’t be the only family looking for something like that.
So I decided to build it.
Art isn’t just fun. It’s powerful. It helps children process emotions, build confidence, and understand the world around them. And right now, that’s more needed than ever.
Recent figures show that 44% of children in Northern Ireland experience problems with their mental health by the time they’re 11 years old, an absolutely shocking statistic. A 2023 report from the Mental Health Champion NI found that in the North of Ireland, we have the highest rates of mental illness in the UK, and that early intervention, especially through creative outlets, plays a major role in helping young people learn how to better cope with these issues.
That’s what The Little Makers Club is about. It’s not about creating perfect artists. It’s about giving kids a space to explore, create, express and just enjoy being themselves. We will draw, paint, invent characters, tell stories, build imaginary worlds, and have a lot of fun along the way.
The support for the idea so far has been incredible, and thank you to everyone who has reached out, expressed interest and those who have already booked a place. Honestly, that’s no surprise. The Armagh community has shown up time and again, whether through the Charity Christmas Card Initiative for the Armagh Food Bank, or the overwhelming response to In the Heart of Armagh. I’ve always believed Armagh is a place that values heart, creativity, and community.
The Little Makers Club is just getting started. My dream is to grow and evolve it into something even bigger than this initial slate of summer groups. I hope to bring it into schools, run after-school sessions, community events and keep building it into something that grows with the kids who take part.
If you’ve got a young one who loves to create, or one who’s maybe just curious to try, I’d love for them to be part of it. Community based, grass roots initiatives always need one things at the beginning, the support of the community it aims to serve. Please do follow our social media ( @little_makers_club on Instagram) and share our posts on your own platforms and let any families you know who may be interested that we are here and have events planned.
You can book a session now through the website at the link below. Thank you and all the best.
https://www.jonathanhackettart.com/little-makers-club
Jonathan Hackett
