🌐 WOMEN’S STORIES _ Blue Skies Exhibition
Miranda Bain,
The Heroine Collective
The Heroine Collective
The role
of art in recovering from abuse
of art in recovering from abuse
Launched
this year, the Blue Skies exhibition was the result of a project which gathered
together women in recovery from abuse for a series of weekly sessions. The aim
was for them to explore a new identity – that of artistic creator.
this year, the Blue Skies exhibition was the result of a project which gathered
together women in recovery from abuse for a series of weekly sessions. The aim
was for them to explore a new identity – that of artistic creator.
Lynette
Shanbury, Executive Director of participatory arts company Spare Tyre, and Anat
Toffell from Solace Women’s Aid were behind Blue Skies. Toffell runs the
Women’s Resilience Awareness Project (WRAP), which endeavours to support women
experiencing domestic and sexual abuse through myriad groups and workshops.
Spare Tyre have recently received a £70,000 award from the
Heritage Lottery Fund to support their work in bringing communities
together to make art.
Shanbury, Executive Director of participatory arts company Spare Tyre, and Anat
Toffell from Solace Women’s Aid were behind Blue Skies. Toffell runs the
Women’s Resilience Awareness Project (WRAP), which endeavours to support women
experiencing domestic and sexual abuse through myriad groups and workshops.
Spare Tyre have recently received a £70,000 award from the
Heritage Lottery Fund to support their work in bringing communities
together to make art.
Shanbury
emphasises the need to create an environment in which participants could
comfortably create; anonymity was obviously crucial for the women to feel as
much freedom as possible. “As with all our projects we begin by creating a
safe space,” she says. “We like changing the atmosphere of the place where
we’re working – using music and putting inspiring images up on the walls.”
emphasises the need to create an environment in which participants could
comfortably create; anonymity was obviously crucial for the women to feel as
much freedom as possible. “As with all our projects we begin by creating a
safe space,” she says. “We like changing the atmosphere of the place where
we’re working – using music and putting inspiring images up on the walls.”
The group
were initially provided with art materials and a blank page. They were
encouraged to simply make marks on the page and see what image formed. Artworks
were discussed within the group and each week, new and sometimes surprising
developments emerged as new materials were added to their artistic arsenal.
Though at times, members chose not to share their work because it provoked too
much pain, one participant stressed that “ultimately, connecting with a sense
of choice is what is so hugely important for those whose choices have been
taken away in the past.”
were initially provided with art materials and a blank page. They were
encouraged to simply make marks on the page and see what image formed. Artworks
were discussed within the group and each week, new and sometimes surprising
developments emerged as new materials were added to their artistic arsenal.
Though at times, members chose not to share their work because it provoked too
much pain, one participant stressed that “ultimately, connecting with a sense
of choice is what is so hugely important for those whose choices have been
taken away in the past.”
I felt these
exercises were very powerful in helping us women who had been through
traumatic experiences to start seeing the possibilities available to us in a
new light. Not only could we express ourselves in a way that was quite free and
spontaneous, but we could then be deliberate and intentional about how we chose
to develop and frame these expressions – A Blue Skies Artist
Contributors
initially felt the weight of what “art” should be, but these notions were
gradually eroded. Shanbury recalls their “mixed feelings” at first and showing
them that “art wasn’t just what you did at school but something that was very
personal, flexible and responsive to each individual.”
initially felt the weight of what “art” should be, but these notions were
gradually eroded. Shanbury recalls their “mixed feelings” at first and showing
them that “art wasn’t just what you did at school but something that was very
personal, flexible and responsive to each individual.”
The works
on display at the exhibition are varied: a chimney-top view shimmers from
within a blurred window frame, while another photo shows two zips locked
together by a love-heart padlock. Several works portray nature, depicting
glimpses of sky, a closely scrutinised branch of blossom, and in one striking
image, a hand-drawn scene of monkeys is juxtaposed with a photograph of the
treetops touching a blue sky.
on display at the exhibition are varied: a chimney-top view shimmers from
within a blurred window frame, while another photo shows two zips locked
together by a love-heart padlock. Several works portray nature, depicting
glimpses of sky, a closely scrutinised branch of blossom, and in one striking
image, a hand-drawn scene of monkeys is juxtaposed with a photograph of the
treetops touching a blue sky.
There is
a sense of many artists aspiring towards a feeling of freedom, reaching out of
the cityscape into the calm beauty of the natural world. Toffell emphasises
this relationship between art and the personal: “One of the impacts of abuse is
that it attacks women’s very sense of self, of who they are… The creative art
workshops really help women to explore their feelings and take back their
lives.”
a sense of many artists aspiring towards a feeling of freedom, reaching out of
the cityscape into the calm beauty of the natural world. Toffell emphasises
this relationship between art and the personal: “One of the impacts of abuse is
that it attacks women’s very sense of self, of who they are… The creative art
workshops really help women to explore their feelings and take back their
lives.”
Creativity
offers a unique opportunity for healing for survivors of abuse. It affords a
freedom which allows women to express themselves, to be heard in a way they may
never have been heard before. To explore a part of themselves which has been
shut down – WRAP service user
The
unique ability of creativity to transform and inspire is evidently
effective to those living with the impact of severe trauma.
Encapsulating the role art can play in recovery, Toffell speaks of her
wide-ranging experience in this field. She mentions a “hugely popular” course
she coordinated on Feminist Art, intending “to show how these dynamics of abuse
actually are produced by a misogynistic and patriarchal society and need to be
understood and framed as such.”
unique ability of creativity to transform and inspire is evidently
effective to those living with the impact of severe trauma.
Encapsulating the role art can play in recovery, Toffell speaks of her
wide-ranging experience in this field. She mentions a “hugely popular” course
she coordinated on Feminist Art, intending “to show how these dynamics of abuse
actually are produced by a misogynistic and patriarchal society and need to be
understood and framed as such.”
Solace
Women’s Aid are running a whole variety of creative groups this Spring, from an
eleven-week filmmaking course in partnership with the organisation See Change
Films, to a puppet-making course with the Little Angel Theatre. Such projects
are clearly an enormous contribution to women’s journeys to recovery. Shanbury
is emphatic: “There is absolutely no doubt that the arts can offer a
therapeutic route for people to express a range of emotions, particularly where
words fail or are too traumatic.”
Women’s Aid are running a whole variety of creative groups this Spring, from an
eleven-week filmmaking course in partnership with the organisation See Change
Films, to a puppet-making course with the Little Angel Theatre. Such projects
are clearly an enormous contribution to women’s journeys to recovery. Shanbury
is emphatic: “There is absolutely no doubt that the arts can offer a
therapeutic route for people to express a range of emotions, particularly where
words fail or are too traumatic.”
The
artworks were displayed without artist titles or blurbs, which Shanbury argues
was to ensure that the viewer didn’t “get bogged down by the back-story of
these women’s lives… We wanted to change people’s perspectives of how they
viewed women who’ve experienced violence.” As one participant put it: “People
who have 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.” She emphasised that the warmth and respect of
professionals and participants alike, helping her to rebuild and heal: “all of
these together made it possible for us to start creating a different picture of
ourselves and of the wider world.”
artworks were displayed without artist titles or blurbs, which Shanbury argues
was to ensure that the viewer didn’t “get bogged down by the back-story of
these women’s lives… We wanted to change people’s perspectives of how they
viewed women who’ve experienced violence.” As one participant put it: “People
who have 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.” She emphasised that the warmth and respect of
professionals and participants alike, helping her to rebuild and heal: “all of
these together made it possible for us to start creating a different picture of
ourselves and of the wider world.”
