Cafe Jackpot

Part of The Old Chapel Café Residency – Celebrating Community Engagement

Overview

Cafe Jackpot was a strand of a wider residency at The Old Chapel Café in Saltney Ferry, focused on recognising and celebrating people actively engaging with their passions and interests. Within the residency, participants explored and shared their creativity through activities such as drumming, writing, singing, crafting, and upcycling, highlighting the value of everyday creative engagement as a form of social contribution.

Context & Purpose

The Old Chapel Café is a vibrant community hub where people experiment, learn, and share skills. Cafe Jackpot provided a framework to reflect on and acknowledge these ongoing activities, emphasising that participation itself — not just producing finished artworks — creates wellbeing, builds confidence, and strengthens community bonds. This approach is consistent with my wider practice, which centres on place-based engagement, social repair, and collaborative creativity.

Approach & Activities

As part of the residency, Cafe Jackpot offered opportunities for participants to share, showcase and reflect on their own creative practices, including:

• Drumming and rhythm-making – encouraging collective energy and collaboration.

• Writing and storytelling – valuing personal expression and imaginative exploration.

• Singing and performance – celebrating confidence, participation, and shared joy.

• Crafting and upcycling – highlighting skill, innovation, and care for materials.

Rather than delivering formal workshops, the strand privileged participant voice and existing engagement, creating space for people to celebrate what they love doing and the contribution it makes to their community.

Outcomes & Impact

Through Cafe Jackpot, the residency achieved:

• Recognition of creativity – highlighting the skills and engagement of participants in a way that validates their contribution to community life.

• Community connection – fostering mutual support and shared experience across the Café.

• Wellbeing and confidence – encouraging continued participation and a sense of personal and collective achievement.

Connection to Wider Practice

This strand reflects my ongoing commitment to:

• Place-based engagement – embedding arts practice within everyday community settings.

• Participation as artistic outcome – valuing the act of engagement and co-creation as a form of cultural contribution.

• Social repair and wellbeing – using recognition, reflection, and shared creativity to strengthen relationships and resilience.

By situating Cafe Jackpot within the broader residency, the project demonstrates how arts practice can celebrate and sustain existing community activity, encouraging people to continue following their passions while making a positive impact in their local environment.