We take risks. We celebrate the voices of women. We create a powerful forum for women who have experienced violence.
In Autumn 2015, we worked with Solace Women's Aid to deliver a series of creative workshops for women who have experienced violence, with the theme of Blue Skies at its core.
Through visual art, photography and spoken word, women explored transformations, their hopes and aspirations. During the creation process we created a safe space indicating clearly that everything was possible, and would be respected and appreciated. We took risks by asking them to tear up their artwork, to venture outside and take shots.
People who've experienced violence often alternate between seeing themselves either as victims or survivors. In this group we could begin to see ourselves as both of these but also as creators.
Blue Skies participant
During weekly sessions, women experimented with process, artforms and subject matter. Gently participants emerged as artists, revealing their talents. The project culminated in the women developing their perspectives through the lens of a camera. Collaboratively and independently women explored their surrounding environments producing a final photography show.
The Blues Skies Exhibition is a selection of 17 photographs, that toured to galleries across the UK throughout 2017.
Interested in hosting the Blue Skies Exhibition? Email Gemma, or call on 0208 692 4446 (ext 273)
In Autumn 2016, we ran this project again in Lewisham with clients of Refuge, the national domestic violence charity. For 10 weeks, women who've experienced violence worked with our team exploring themes of hope, aspiration and rebuilding through multi-media art forms.
When I first heard about Blue Skies I wasn’t in a good place, life was complicated and took a turn for the worse and I didn’t want to do anything… It seemed like it was just another art class. It wasn’t. Blue Skies was more than an art class, it reflected our lives; every session taught me a life lesson. Blue Skies taught me that even on a dark rainy day, the sky is still blue, it’s just a different shade of blue. Now every day, I know that no matter how bad anything is, if I wanted to, I can make it good.' Several months on, one participant still draws every day – ‘Now my room is like Picasso’s room’.
Refuge participant