September 2017 and March 2018
On behalf of Imperial Health Charity, I delivered a series of interactive, sensory-based workshops at the Affordable Art Fair, held at Battersea Evolution. The aim was to raise awareness of the charity's work by giving visitors first-hand experience of the creative activities it funds within Imperial's hospitals.
The workshops were adapted from projects I regularly facilitate with patients across the Trust, offering people of all ages and abilities the opportunity to explore the therapeutic and social benefits of creative participation. Activities included cut-up poetry, scented abstract painting and alternative drawing techniques, each designed to encourage playfulness, relaxation and self-expression rather than focusing on artistic ability.
By bringing hospital-based creative practice into a public setting, the workshops helped demonstrate the positive impact that participatory arts can have on wellbeing while sparking conversations about the role of creativity within healthcare. Participants left not only with artwork they had made themselves, but with a greater understanding of how the charity uses the arts to support patients, families and staff across its hospitals.
