Join us for this online panel to reflect on the role that art can play in having a positive impact on the wellbeing and mental health of sanctuary seekers when working in creative settings.

 

As part of this year’s Creativity and Wellbeing Week, we are pleased to invite Thahmina Begum, Dana Olărescu, Amanda Camenisch and Therese Westin, along with project participant Frieda N. Coleman, to speak about their socially engaged artistic practices and to reflect on their experiences running arts-based projects with refugees and asylum seekers.

Creative spaces of sanctuary are vibrant assemblages where artists and communities with lived experience of forced displacement come together to co-create dynamic spaces that embody an expansive sense of hope and possibility.

In this online panel conversation, we ask – what role can art play to hold spaces that foster a sense of safety and promote wellbeing for refugees and people navigating the asylum system? How do they as creative practitioners navigate the hostile systems and structures that are detrimental to the wellbeing and mental health of sanctuary seekers? What kind of support structures can they put in place to look after their own wellbeing when working with communities confronted by vulnerability? And how can their experiences open up a critical space for learning and reflection for others with an interest in working in this space?

The online panel will last approximately 1.5 hours, including space for questions or reflections.

The webinar will take place on Zoom and a meeting link will be sent to attendees in advance. Closed captioning will be available.

This conversation is part of Counterpoints Arts’ two-year programme focussing on mental health, displacement and the arts running across 2024 & 2025, and is generously supported by The Baring Foundation.

 

Book your free ticket here.

 

Meet the Speakers

Dana Olărescu

Dana Olărescu is a socially engaged artist with a focus on challenging minority exclusion and environmental injustice. Through participatory methodologies that democratise access to art and knowledge, she aims to give agency to underserved migrant groups and people habitually excluded from decision-making processes, so they can become active co-producers of culture.

Her projects have been supported by, among others, the Arts Council, Counterpoints Arts, UCL Culture, Invisible Dust, and Urban Wilderness, and presented at institutions in the UK and abroad, including Tate Modern, the London Short Film Festival, the Low Carbon Design Institute, Art Gene, x-church, ArtHouse Jersey, Art Walk Projects, Incheon Art Platform (South Korea), and La Virgule (France).

 

Thahmina Begum

Thahmina Begum lives and works in Leeds, Yorkshire. She is an Interdisciplinary Artist, Poet, and Workshop Facilitator. Begum has exhibited internationally, nationally, and hyper locally. Begum is a qualified and registered Art Psychotherapist (HCPC, BATT). Her work explores cultures, identities, belonging and British /Bangladeshi/Muslim Diaspora. Begum’s work explores stories, hidden narratives and storytelling through art and art making. Begum is passionate about making Art accessible for all sections of society and the promotion of art to improve our health and wellbeing. She love’s how Art can gives voices to communities/people that have been silenced.

Begum’s work ranges from printmaking, collage, embroidery, painting, drawing, poetry, and creative conversations. She love’s working with Communities and groups to support and ease their ideas around art and what it means to them. She attended Leeds Arts University.

Begum’s recent work/commissions include working with British Library (Food without Borders 2021-22),(Community History Project 2021) (Get Creative 2022-203) (Mapping Our Better Life, 2024) (Our Stories, our lives – Migration Stories, Treasures Gallery, London St Pancras,2024) Leeds Art Gallery (Advisory Panel) (Shifting Perspectives and Conversation Table, 2022) Yorkshire Sculpture Park (Concert for Bangladesh,2021), (Walk a mile in my shoes, 2022) Tetley Gallery (The Colour Pallette,2021), LEEDS 2023 (Sarees and Street signs 2021 -22) and Yorkshire Sculpture International (Sylhet in my Suitcase,2021 -22) Tara Theatre/British Council/Britto Arts Trust (Artist Make Spaces) (International Commission) Runnemede Trust -Artist in Residence (Racial Equality and Migrants Summit 2022) Commonwealth Theatre, Bradford (Off the Curriculum,2023) Woven in Kirklees (Dewsbury Fashion Show) University of Leeds and East Street Art –Cultural Institute (Creative Labs, 2023).

 

Amanda Camenisch and Therese Westin

Amanda Camenisch and Therese Westin, London-based artists and wellbeing practitioners, create immersive experiences through installation, sculpture, sound, and performance art. They facilitate both individual and collective experiences, often involving participation in workshops, concerts, and performances. Drawing from their background in wellbeing, they craft meditative sculptural landscapes, inviting participants to engage in sacred practices and fostering spaces for active imagination and play.

Their collaborative projects focus on activation and regeneration, prioritizing the experiences of participants through a trauma-informed approach. Notable projects include a commission by The Brent Biennial to work with women from a local shelter, resulting in sculptures exhibited at the Metroland Gallery and permanently installed at the shelter. They are currently completing a 14-month collaborative project supported by Arts Council England, involving refugee centers and a women’s shelter, with outcomes including exhibitions, ceremonies, and mentorship programs. Their performance project, “A Home Is A Cloud,” explores embodied experiences of trauma and displacement, aiming to build strategies of home-making through community building and healing practices.

Selected partnerships, workshops and lectures: SPACE Ilford (London), The Museum of Home (London), University of Chicago (USA), CSM London, and Universität der Künste Berlin, Arts Council England, Melissa Network (GR), Hackney Migrant Centre, Marylebone project, Jesuit Refugee Services, Asian Women Resource Centre, Metroland, Arts and Health Hub, Counterpoints Art, Communitas (GR), House of Annetta Therese and Amanda have been awarded the Community Engagement Artist Award in 2021 and in 2023, Arts Council England Project Grant 2021 & 2022.

 

Freida N. Coleman

Freida N. Coleman, born in Hopkins, Belize, is a long-term participant in projects facilitated by Amanda and Therese. She is a Garifuna woman who came to England in 2019. As a mother of twin girls, she draws strength from her indigenous roots and traditions, instilling in her children a deep connection to their heritage. Freida’s journey in London has been one of resilience and self-discovery, navigating challenges such as postpartum depression and cultural displacement.

Her quest for healing led her to explore meditation and holistic practices, seeking solace in community support networks. Through emotional health classes and music-based meditation sessions, Freida found empowerment and a sense of belonging. Inspired by the transformative power of sound and movement, she embraced new experiences, including the Lyra Project facilitated by Amanda and Therese.

Freida’s involvement in the mentorship program facilitated by Amanda and Therese further deepened her understanding of meditation and self-care, equipping her with valuable skills to guide others on their healing journey. With gratitude for her mentors and fellow participants, Freida embraces the endless possibilities for growth and connection that lie ahead.

 

Photo Credits – Amanda Camenisch and Therese Westin ©