A COMMUNITY art project will be touring Cumbria in a playful custom transit van.

Lakeland Arts’ award-winning MEND programme unveils its next development. This summer a custom transit van will be touring around Cumbria delivering creative workshops inspired by the Lakeland Arts collection.

The MEND team will also be gathering the stories and experiences of people in the county to add to the Lakeland Arts oral history archive.

In 2021 the project received the Fantastic For Families Award for Audience Impact and Innovation.

Now in its second year, MEND is a community-focused project introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, aimed at connecting people through creative collaboration and shared experiences.

The pandemic has changed the way all of us live; from how we work, learn and spend our free time, to how we feel and interact with others.

Amy Stretch -Parker Wellbeing Producer at Lakeland Arts, said: "The MEND project grew out of a discussion around the act of mending, about how it can be an act of repairing and making. Making mends objects, minds, communities, and hearts.

"Everyone is creative in their own way. By taking our MEND van out to different locations we are aiming to deepen our understanding of what people in Cumbria need and want from our arts and heritage venues.

"This will help us to keep improving what we offer and make lasting connections county wide. Our exciting oral history project will ensure that contemporary culture and stories of this region are preserved for future generations."