Jamila Hanan - Community Art Work
Art & Mind
This was an interactive community art exhibition made out of cardboard, focusing on the topic of mental health. The exhibition included output from a series of workshops working with a group exploring creativity and its benefits for mental health, as well as a cardboard sculpture symbolising the inner workings of the brain made by The Art Club, as well as a butterfly 'Wall of Hope' made by many different members of the local community from age 5 to 87, including visitors to The Art Playground. Also on display throughout the building was over 40 large artworks produced by The Art Club over the previous year.
Art & Mind Exhibition - Opening Talks
These are the opening speeches at the Art & Mind community art exhibition by Jamila Hanan, Dr Sarah Wollaston (chair of NHS Devon), Penny Calvert (Creative Health Associate for South West England) and Cherry Lawrence (sculptor and art therapist).
The Art Playground
This was a free community event which I ran with volunteeres. It was held monthly at The Clay Factory in Ivybridge, from 2022 through to the end of 2023, where people of all ages could come to make art together, using art materials donated by the community. We would have up to 100 people attending, making all kinds of spontaneous and fun creations using lots of different mediums and recycled materials.
Walk, Meditate, Create
Up to twice monthly between 2022 and 2024 I would take a group of people for a walk on Dartmoor, up to the top of Western Beacon, where we would do some outdoors meditation and mark making. We would then head back to The Clay Factory to enjoy a wholesome and very tasty RedPod vegan meal in the cafe, followed by collaborative art making in my studio. The positive benefits on wellbeing were noticed by everyone attending and many new friendships were made on the day retreats. For several people the day opened the door to a new creative practice, with people joining the weekly art club as a result.
Textile Club
These are just some of the artwork produced by the textile club which met weekly at Artmoor Haven Art Club from 2023 to 2024. We made artwork out of recycled donated materials. Most work was individual although some work was collaborative. General themes were chosen together with inspiration drawn from Pinterest. People were free to make the work that they wanted, with encouragement from each other. There was no obligation to sew, since pictures could be made simply through cutting and glueing, although increasingly people would opt to sew. Most of the sewing was done by hand although a sewing machine was available. Sewing did not have to be precise; any type of stitching was fine. The most important elements of the club were the conversations and friendships that developed whilst making and also everyone's individual creative confidence that developed over time.