Our Members

DAiSY Member Organisations

The steering group meets regularly to shape DAiSY strategy, discuss ideas and explore countywide issues. We also operate as an informal network, with opportunities for members to contact each other directly for support and advice.

Art Matters

Part of the mental health charity Richmond Fellowship, Art Matters is a community arts studio and centre of wellbeing and mindfulness aiming to connect communities and provide pathways to recovery. The studio offers a person centred and supportive environment encouraging individuals to explore their creativity and develop new skills and confidence.

Halow Project

The halow project is dedicated to creating opportunities and supporting young people with a learning disability so that they are able to live independent, meaningful, fulfilled lives and become more involved in their local community.

halow aims to ensure that every person with a learning disability has the same life choices and chances as any other person by providing access to social activities, community based learning and work like experiences.

The young people we work with want the opportunity to:

• Build relationships
• Become part of the community
• Find meaningful employment
• Have a home of their own

Freewheelers Theatre & Media Company

We are an inclusive arts company where artistic excellence goes hand in hand with learning and personal growth.

Our person-centred, creative process and the friendly, communal Freewheelers atmosphere creates an environment where our members’ confidence, independence, social skills and self expression can thrive.

Every week is packed with creative workshops where members come together to share their creative talents, learn new skills and work towards a new performance, film or piece of art.

A day with the Freewheelers is a chance to meet friends, chat, laugh, have fun and be yourself.

Creative Response

Creative Response Arts Ltd is an art related charity for vulnerable adults. The practising artists share visual and performance techniques and provide a safe environment for self-expression. Learnt transferable skills enable artists to manage their own mental health by enhancing self-esteem through sharing and socialising.

There are regular in-house and external exhibitions and projects that stretch and enhance artistic skills.

Dramatize

Dramatize is a charity based in Ashford, Surrey who run theatrical workshops and trips for adults with learning disabilities. Dramatize provides a range of arts-based workshops to help further the personal development of the students who access our provisions. We aim to inspire our students to be independent through a variety of sessions, to encourage a lifetime of creativity and highlight their individual talents as artists. Dramatize aims to provide the opportunity for theatre and the performing arts to be accessible to all!

Orpheus Centre

Orpheus believes that disabled people should have the same opportunities as their non-disabled peers. We aim to equip young disabled people with the skills and confidence they need in order to live independent and fulfilling lives.

Everything at Orpheus is focussed on maximising lasting independence for our students. We have an entrepreneurial spirit, taking a lead in finding new and effective ways of working in the arts, learning and social care sectors. Our impact and ethos has so engaged and inspired visitors to the college that we benefit from a steady stream of help from arts professionals, tutors, support staff and volunteers. Our students have performed at the House of Lords, the Royal Albert Hall and venues across the UK and worked with schools, prisons, community groups and businesses to break down barriers and challenge stereotypes.

Stopgap Dance Company

Stopgap Dance Company is driven by a diverse creative team who uses dance as a movement for change.

Our vision is to create an inclusive world where diversity is not just accepted but pursued, a world where no one is limited by prejudice against D/deaf, disabled, or neurodiverse people.

Working with an artform shaped by human touch and energised by the spark of connectivity, our productions demonstrate the compelling power of diversity and inclusivity.

Surrey Choices

Our dedicated team offers support through a wide range of activities in our day and community services, home and living, through Short Breaks respite and Shared Lives and employment and learning, via our nationally recognised support employment service, EmployAbility.

The Grange

The Grange at Bookham is a friendly and creative place supporting people with learning disabilities to live independent and fulfilling lives.

We provide supported accommodation on our 8-acre site and in the local community and our staff are there to help people with all aspects of daily life.

We are unique in Surrey for our Skills for Life service which offers training and work experience in horticulture, catering, creative arts, retail, woodwork and IT – all on one site. We run several mini businesses, including gift shops, our Simply Scones tea room, fudge and mug making.

The Artventure Trust

Artventure Trust is a charity that provides visual art sessions for adults with learning disabilities, physical impairments and autism in a safe and fun environment. We offer opportunities to explore different art forms from painting and drawing to textile, 3D work and ceramics, we offer printmaking and photography as well. The sessions take place in our purpose built studio that is on the grounds of St Peter’s School in Merrow, Guildford. A dedicated team of artworkers and volunteers support our participants with their creative processes and social interactions.

Bloomin’ Arts

Bloomin’ Arts offers opportunities for people with learning disabilities to enjoy, develop skills, perform and work in the arts.

We work to everyone’s strengths, enabling everyone to access arts productions at any level. Everyone plays their part: actor, musician, dancer, wardrobe, visual artists, lighting and sound technician, costume designers and stage managers, promotions and publicity.

In our small, friendly workshops our highly experienced specialist artists are able to focus on individual skills and bring out the best in all.

The Whole Notes Community Choir

Whole Notes is a community choir for adults with autism, social anxiety or a learning disability and runs weekly in Camberley and Guildford.

It is designed for people who want to have fun singing with others, build self- confidence, make friends and learn useful life skills. Each choir meets weekly during term-times.

Prospero Theatre

Prospero Theatre uses drama as a developmental tool to improve the quality of lives of adults and young people with disabilities and mental health challenges.

Our dual aims are artistic excellence and reducing social isolation.

Prospero is a place where everyone is valued and can be themselves. All decisions are member-led.

As well as shows we hold socials, art classes, mindfulness sessions, cinema nights and weekly sandwich meet-ups. Newcomers quickly become part of our ‘Prospero family.’

Create Ability

Create Ability is a community arts service providing art and craft sessions for people with learning disabilities, autism, physical impairments, complex needs and dementia, based in Farnham, Surrey.

We believe that engaging with creative projects enriches the lives of our participants, through self-expression, personal development, social interactions and a sense of enjoyment.  We currently have sessions running in a community hall in Weybourne  and  in a residential care home.

Include.org

Include is a Redhill based charity committed to breaking down barriers for people with understanding and speaking difficulties.

We work largely with people with learning disabilities / autism but also with people with dementia or other cognitive communication difficulties. 

We provide community activities, training and coproduction / self advocacy groups: All of them are based on speech and language therapy evidence, raise awareness of inclusive communication and teach skills to individuals and communities through a creative approach. 

Sensory Services by Sight for Surrey

Sensory Services by Sight for Surrey is a charity offering a lifetime of support to enable and empower people who are blind or vision impaired, Deaf, deafblind or hard of hearing.  Sensory Services by Sight for Surrey delivers specialist, hands-on, practical and holistic support, tailored to the aspirations and needs of each individual.  We want to inspire everyone we work with to take the small steps today to achieve breakthroughs tomorrow.

We are based in Fetcham and our team of staff and volunteers offer services and support across all of Surrey.

Bletchingley Skills Centre

Bletchingley Skills Centre is a charity that has been in existence for over 32 years. Based in Bletchingly they offer fully inclusive courses for disabled people from the ages of 24 to 70.

Students can choose to join in many courses including Makaton, Art, Craft, Music, Drama, Cookery and many more. Our students come from a diverse range of accommodations and also many different cultural backgrounds.  Our students have diverse disabilities including non-verbal, non-sighted amongst other disabilities. They all thoroughly enjoy their time at the centre and have formed some lasting friendships with other students they may not have met if not for the centre.

Ochre Print Studio

Ochre Print Studio is an open access fine art print studio, welcoming and encouraging artists and printmakers of all abilities to engage in the creative processes of traditional printmaking and contemporary print technology.

Head2Head Sensory Theatre