Layers - An exhibition of the outcomes from SEAS's Art Therapy creative programme at the BMECP
07/05 to 15/06 BMECP Centre 10/a Fleet St. Brighton BN1 4ZE
This exhibition presents the work that emerged during a series of workshops, originally facilitated by Sara Alsaraf, a Creative Arts Therapist. The space was imagined as a safe place for artists who identify as BAME and/or LGBTQI to meet and explore their wellbeing and experiences throughout the pandemic. The group was formed of four diverse participants whom all have very different bodies and identities. Our art was produced alongside conversations about how CoVID-19 had impacted upon our us as marginalised folk, whilst also recognising the long-term embodied impact that racism, ableism, colonialism and institutional trauma have had upon our bodies. We identified experiences that have harmed us and how we carry these in flight, fight, freeze and appeasement reactions. Anxiety, stress and uncertainty feature in our daily lives; getting to know one another, we shared our ways of dealing with this. For some of us, the lockdowns were comfortable and opened up doors through an online connection that was previously impossible to find; for others, we felt profound isolation and disconnection. Our discussions were animated through art- we spent time during the session creating art alongside one another. Each participant produced a number of artworks whilst focusing on themes that were presented to them during the workshops. We used different media and techniques, some of us working alongside one another, some of us in private. Following discussions around power and institutional harm, we made the decision to shift from having a sole facilitator and instead continue meeting as a collective to explore our many layers and layered connections.
Participating Artists
Sara Alsaraf is a creative arts therapist, originally from Iraq, born in Scotland. She is a facilitator of connections and spaces where people can explore their (well)being, particularly for people from marginalised backgrounds.
About the work
Themes, quotations from the participants and my process notes are seen here interwoven within sacred geometric patterns. Sacred geometry reflects patterns in nature and has been used in Islamic architecture and art for centuries. I use it here as a container for our space, in which manifestations, connections and dynamics evolved.
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Edi Mandala is an Artivist (an Artist that directs all creativity to Anti Racist Activism) - born in England of 'Windrush descent', in 2016 he began BLAQ MUSE (multimedia, archiving, memoir and wellbeing process), that is aimed at healing racist trauma caused by living in 'hostile environments', and empowering all victims of systemic racism, by creating new perspectives that focus upon Reclamation, Resolution and Reparations.
About the work
Part of the BLAQ MUSE process requires me to develop new skills in editorship and to work in solidarity with 'People Of Difference'.
In response to the themes arising from group working interactions, I produced videos with formats that combine graphic storytelling, and concrete poetry, which is presented in a style that is influenced by the theoretical frameworks of Black Quantum Futurism.
Talulah Miers is a multidisciplinary artist fascinated by psychology, consciousness, and nature, she find myself exploring the intriguing places where they overlap.
After time as an environmental activist and a community artist, Talulah returned to education, graduated from Staffordshire University in fine art, and almost compl