I was honoured to be invited to speak at Gamian Europe's 'Art as a Socio-Psychoogical Mirror' webinar organised as part of the Vibrant Mind project.
One of my artworks featured in 'The Vibrant Mind' exhibition which has been touring around Europe this year exploring mental health through artistry. I also found out recently that my painting 'Trepidation' was one of three winners of their award - voted on by a jury panel of experts and the public.
I decided to speak about my work with Dare to Care Art Collective, since we collaborated with GAMIAN in April, putting up their exhibition at DUMBO art space in Bologna as well as delivering some workshops with the local community. I also spoke about my current MA research and art work which is focussing on psychological abuse and the impact of trolling.
It was a really lovely occasion to share my work and I felt priveliged that they asked me out of all the artists in their exhibition. The other speakers included, fellow artist, Ally Zlatar, who I am currently collaborating with on an exhibition about Gender Based Violence, and to psychologists who work with art.
I introduced Dare to Care and talked about our work which focuses on mental health of artists and how systemic issues in the sector affect artist's well-being.
I spoke about my recent textiles work, looking at stitching as a metaphor for compassion and healing - mending what is broken and the concept of kintsugi where the scars are seen to beautify the object.
Then I talked about my "hate dress" and responding to online abuse through creativity, using positive chanelling as self-empowerment and my hope to inspire others to speak their truth regardless of the backlash they may receive as a result.
I found all of the speaker's presentations fascinating and it was wonderful to exchange insights with them - I will share a link to the recording once it has been uploaded!
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