Authenticity, discovery, exploration, play, wellbeing
By Lisa Nash (Curator, Social Practice) and Isabella Niven (Head of Social Practice)
Together, we secured funding for a pilot project: a five-week artist-led initiative exploring ecology and art with families, which started on Saturday 10 June 2017. Just four days later, Grenfell Tower was on fire. 72 people lost their lives, many more lost their homes and loved ones, and a whole community was left traumatised. Artists Rachel Nee and Ana Carolina Rodrigues were going to lead a Flourish workshop that weekend. Instead, they set up tables and chairs outside Maxilla, offering refreshments, friendly encouragement, paper and drawing materials with an invitation to draw or write. It was clear that in the face of trauma, humans have an innate understanding that creative processes are good for us. Groups of people – friends and neighbours – took comfort in being able to take time out, sit together and create.
The fire shifted our focus. Recognising the importance of safe, communal creative spaces, we adjusted our offer and set some ground rules. By creating safety, building trust, providing choice and nurturing collaboration in all we do, Flourish has not only benefited families affected by Grenfell, but also those facing other types of adversity. Flourish has provided consistency and a space to connect during times of loss and grief; it has lent a space to rebuild trust after parental separation; it’s a place where families can create supportive, meaningful bonds, where they can build their resilience to face future challenges.
This Trauma Informed approach continues to underpin Flourish today. From this, we developed a set of 5 values to help us hold our work in North Kensington, Brent, and wherever Flourish grows next, accountable. They are:
Authenticity – artists share the creative journey with families, they build trust, there is genuine connection and an equal exchange of ideas and knowledge.
Discovery – participation provides children and families with the freedom to experiment, learn and create free from judgement.
Exploration – artists and families explore a creative journey with a beginning, middle and end; all sessions can be experienced individually as well as part of a journey and all levels of engagement are actively welcomed.
Play – confidence is built to push boundaries; emotionally it can be bonding; and outdoor play supports innovative interaction with the natural world.
Wellbeing – creating strong networks between families; increasing connection within families; building emotional resilience.
To truly embed these values in our community of families and artists, in the half-term of February 2024, artist Flora Duley and artist-illustrator Sadie St-Hilaire co-delivered a series of workshops to creatively explore the new values with the programme’s families. Sadie took her experiences away with her, working with images and material created by the group, to create five vibrant and evocative illustrations, one for each value. These artworks have been printed as fabric banners and are now proudly on display in our studios at Barham Park and Maxilla. They will be the centrepiece for future Flourish sessions as a statement of intent – or manifesto – for the artists and families embarking on their creative journey together.
We are excited to share and celebrate these with you. If your family signs up for one of our sessions you will be able to see them in person, as well as enjoy a cup of tea from a special Flourish mug!
You can find out more about Flourish and the artists we work with here.
Stay tuned to upcoming Flourish sessions here.
In May 2024, Lisa and Isabella presented the evaluation in a webinar as part of Creativity and Wellbeing Week, you learn more about it here.
