Studio KIND.

During March and April, Studio KIND. an artist-led contemporary art gallery and project space based in the Corn Store, inside Barnstaple’s historic Pannier Market, hosted workshops for women with experience of forced migration.

The four art and photography based workshops were delivered by Anna Stevens from Field SW and photographer Abbie Trayler-Smith. Field SW is a new organisation set up to make, show and think about photography across the South West. With the support of Counterpoints Arts and North Devon Council, and in partnership with Studio KIND., Field SW were able to develop and deliver four workshops for women in North Devon who have experienced forced displacement. The workshops aimed to provide a fun opportunity to meet new people through creativity, to make connections with local cultural resources and practise speaking English.

The workshops attracted a diverse group of women from the Ukraine and Afghanistan through outreach with Pickwell Foundation, Sunrise Diversity and Libraries Unlimited Refugee Work Club in Barnstaple. In total nine women attended the sessions, which were led by local photographer Abbie Trayler-Smith who has worked with refugee women internationally for organisations such as Oxfam and Amnesty International.

The support of Pickwell Foundation in supporting the transport and childcare arrangements for many of these women was fundamental to the project’s success. Pickwell staff and volunteers were enthusiastic, flexible and encouraging throughout. It was fantastic to see participants’ creativity develop over the weeks as they took on studio lighting and photography, cyanotype printing and collage. The work produced was beautifully personal and considered. The participants openness to taking on these new experiences was hugely appreciated by the team.