ABOUT

Working together with We Are With You and their clients on the project Groundings has been a really eye-opening experience that I am grateful to have been a part of, It has provided me with both a greater understanding of the process of recovery through the lives and experiences of the participants, as well as the role of art facilitator.

Within my own artistic practice, I mainly explore immersion in nature as a form of catharsis from restrictive social realities, and as a rejection of the corrupt social constructs which seek to separate and isolate people. I’m interested in forging connections with people through the sublime truth in nature, as opposed to the murky anxious complexity of social reality. The participant I worked with was encouraged to find comfort and renewal through the creative process of art-making, as well as to traverse new modes of artistic expression as tools to delve into the psyche. This was significant in giving the participant empowered confidence with which to explore and express themselves.

I have always had a drive to work in the field of mental health, and had an awareness for the healing power of art to explore inner truth, as both these areas have been so important to me, due to my own experiences and those of others that I became exposed to growing up. So being a part of this project has allowed me to merge these two aspects, and spurred me to envision and pursue a career in Art Psychotherapy.

I have been honoured and humbled by the participants' trust and vulnerability in contributing to the project, by sharing their own experiences and allowing me to be a part of their creativity and recovery process.

I am so glad to have met the amazing people involved in this project and had the chance to witness their development and growth first hand as they gained confidence and realised their creative power, which in turn has allowed me to cultivate invaluable skills in listening, empathy and facilitation.

Most importantly this opportunity to collaborate with We Are With You has given me an education in humanness, showing me different perspectives and ways of seeing reality and the world around me. And it has motivated me to want to get involved in therapeutic community art projects.