Creative Practice
As a socially engaged artist. Storytelling and Creative Facilitation are integral to my practice. I have always been interested in people, community and stories that connect us. I explore this in my creative practice by utilizing multiple art forms to create Empathic Spaces that uncover intimate narratives around wellbeing, identity and interconnectedness, bringing stories to life that are shared, nurtured and celebrated.
I enjoy facilitating and making socially engaged arts projects with people from all backgrounds, working in schools, care homes, community spaces, museums, festivals and cultural institutions.
Over the past decade, I have been commissioned by arts organizations including Sex With Cancer, Rose Bruford College, Creative Arts East, Magic Me, London Bubble Theatre and Clean Break Theatre to make participatory art projects and performances. My creative process is rooted in listening, asking questions and enabling collaborative ways of working to ensure that participants have a sense of empowerment and genuine agency throughout their art making experiences.
Here is a snapshot of some projects:
Radical Care, Radical Empathy Podcast
Through conversations with Black Women artists, thinkers, healers and space gatherers - the series explores Black Women's collective gatherings as sites of creative social practice, engaging with joyful resistance and acts of liberation. // HOST / PRODUCER
Unexpired Pleasures
A creative documentary film exploring how aging and illness intersect with sexual pleasure, play and intimacy. Artistic collaboration with filmmaker Shona Hamilton commissioned by Sex with Cancer Project (2021) // ARTIST
MotherSong
An intimate immersive sound-installation exploring empathy and wellbeing in motherhood, through lullabies Residencies include First Floor Art Space @ The Whitgift Centre, Croydon and Bainbridge Studios for Dulwich Arts Festival // ARTIST
Arts and Ages
Collaboration with photographer Liane Harris on a 3 year intergenerational collaborative arts project commissioned by Magic Me. Using photography, collage, storytelling, movement and drama, a series of collaborative artworks were produced: 'Places & Spaces', 'Constellations'; and, 'Simple Acts' // LEAD CREATIVE FACILITATOR
Portraits of a Dream
Intergenerational group portrait series from participatory arts project for Magic Me. Co-created with Photographer Liane Harris by working with elders with dementia, their staff and family members through play and imagination to explore expressing their dreams // LEAD CREATIVE FACILITATOR
Radical Care, Radical Empathy
The Radical Care, Radical Empathy Podcast series explores Black Women's collective gatherings as sites of creative social practice, engaging with joyful resistance and acts of liberation through conversations with Black Women artists, thinkers, healers and space gatherers.
*Made with generous support from Rose Bruford College Research Dept. Listen on Spotify.
Unexpired Pleasures
I collaborated with filmmaker Shona Hamilton to create Unexpired Pleasures – a creative documentary film that explored how women’s experiences of cancer intersects with their relationship to sexual pleasure and intimacy.
Commissioned by Sex with Cancer Project, a patient-led initiative that uses art and enterprise to hold a frank and honest conversation about illness and intimacy, the film Unexpired Pleasures is available as a creative resource on their website.
MotherSong
MotherSong is an ongoing experiential travelling participatory project that uses song to explore the intimate relationship between empathy and wellbeing in motherhood. It encompasses a mobile purpose-built flexible Sound-shed containing a sound installation of lullabies collected from communities of mothers of all backgrounds.
MotherSong aims to create an intimate immersive space, where both participants and audience can experience a sense of connection and wellbeing, celebrating the experiences within motherhood, through the act of sharing... singing...listening and witnessing the intimacy of collective empathy woven through song.
MotherSong has been resident at the First Floor Art Space @ The Whitgift Centre in Croydon and at Bainbridge Studios as part of the Dulwich Arts Festival. The journey continues… Please get in touch if you would like to host MotherSong residency in your community.
Arts and Ages
I was a lead creative facilitator working alongside photographer Liane Harris on Arts and Ages - a 3 year intergenerational collaborative arts project commissioned by Magic Me.
Through the use of photography, collage, storytelling, movement and drama - the older and younger participants playfully built connections and explored the creativity of their imaginations in a collaborative group process that culminated in a series of collaborative artworks including:
Places & Spaces - a series of colourful concertina hanging mobile books.
Constellations - sculptural sound and visual installation.
Simple Acts - a creative care package for the older participants (care home residents) who were isolated under Covid-19 restrictions.
Portraits of a Dream
Working with photographer Liane Harris, I devised an intergenerational arts project for Magic Me at the Jewish Care Home in Southgate, London. Collaborating with older residents with dementia, staff and family members - the participants playfully used photography and drama to explore their imaginations and express their dreams, resulting in a series of performative collaborative group portraits entitled Portraits of a Dream.