A WORKSHOP WITH CREATE
OUR NEW CHARITY PARTNER
There’s fabric everywhere. Pens, beads and sequins scattered across the plastic-tablecloth surfaces. The hiss of spray painting on the balcony. The kettle boiling in the other corner. We’re at a workshop run by Create, our new charity partner. It’s a session for adult carers based at Carers' Hub Lambeth, an imposing, brutalist building a stone’s throw from Brixton.
“We’re going to make mandalas,” Anna stands up as the hum of chatter and coffee cups softens. Mandalas are spiritual symbols in Hindu and Buddhist cultures. The carers will be using hula hoops as the basis for theirs, covering them with fabric, spray painting them, decorating as they see fit. "Embellish them however you want," says Anna. "However you want to express yourself.”
Anna is the professional artist leading today’s workshop. She shows a mandala she made earlier, Blue Peter-style. A hula hoop transformed, with three patterns of fabric stretched over the edges, criss-crossed with hot pink thread. The workshop is all about expressing your creativity. Being free to take your hula hoop in whatever direction you choose.
“We’re an arts charity and one of our key outcomes is people increasing their artistic skill under the guidance of professional artists,” Oli, Project Manager at Create, explains. “And increasing people’s confidence, well-being, communication skills and making their voice feel amplified and valued.” Create runs workshops up and down the country. With the aim to empower lives, reduce isolation and enhance wellbeing through the creative arts.
The women get stuck in straight away, picking from the treasure trove of arty materials. “It’s so nice to be creative,” Shirley says, one of the carers sitting around the trestle tables. “It’s like being a kid again.”
Matilde agrees. “It’s been nice letting the materials guide you. You can have an idea of what you want to do beforehand, but you need to feel the materials. It’s been nice letting go and not being too precious about how neat it is.”
“We’ve always revered athletes but we need to appreciate creatives,” Sophie says as she pins fabric to her hoop.
“I’m going to write that on my hoop. Art is my therapy. I’ve got my kids and my husband with his disability. My hands are full. But coming here is a good break. I love it.”
Many of the carers chat about how nice it is to do something different to their normal routines. To have the space to do something for themselves, rather than others. Ligia hangs her mandala on the wall as she ties on threads that she’s going to fill with beads. “Welcoming. That’s the first word that comes to mind. That’s how I’d describe Create.”
As the workshop draws to a close and the women show their mandalas to the group, there’s a real sense of satisfaction in the air. A job well done. “The highlight,” Seandelle sums up as she twizzles her mandala to show the group, “was being given the opportunity to get on with it and express how I feel through the art.”
