The Creating Space project brought women together from migrant communities in East Belfast to creatively tell their personal stories. A unique aspect of the project was its use of trauma-informed creative practice.
EastSide Arts delivered the project, which was supported by the Community Relations Council through its CR/CD Small Grants Scheme.
Reducing Isolation Through the Arts
Hosford Women’s Group is composed of migrant women who live in East Belfast. A key element of Creating Space was to reduce isolation and promote integration by creating a safe space for women from traditionally isolated groups to creativity explore and share their stories.
Central to this was the concept of trauma-informed creative practice.
“Trauma-informed creative practice explores the connection between creativity, resilience, healing, and post-traumatic growth due to the deep connection between our brain and body,” explained Katy Allen, Project Manager with EastSide Arts. “Successful trauma-informed practice requires the experience of a trained facilitator.”
This approach underpinned the entire project.
Katy continued: “From the types of artworks we created to the music that was played throughout the sessions, every element of Creating Space was planned in order to create a safe space.”
Creating Connections and Integration
The project delivered four creative workshops to participants from minority ethnic backgrounds.
It culminated with a public artwork exhibition for the local community. All the artwork was sold, and the proceeds raised went directly to Hosford Women's Group.
“It was important for us to have a public exhibition of the artwork to celebrate and promote cultural diversity in East Belfast,” said Katy. “At each of our four workshops, we explored a different artform and worked to create a variety of items that could be sold at our exhibition.”
A diverse range of community representatives attended the exhibition launch.
Katy said: “The exhibition created connections and promoted integration between the local community and organisations with women from traditionally isolated groups.”
A Better Understanding of Barriers
Although Creating Space was a pilot project, it has already made an immediate impact.
“For us as an organisation, it has opened opportunities for longer-term consistent engagement with Hosford Women’s Group across our year-round programme,” Katy explained. “As a Community Engagement Officer, I have been inspired by the women that we worked with and now have a better understanding of the barriers that they are facing, allowing me to develop more inclusive programming.”
Language posed a potential barrier, especially as the participants were from different countries and spoke varying levels of English.
“To address this, I used an emotion wheel at the start and end of the sessions to gather the impact on creative confidence, instead of more traditional verbal or written feedback,” Katy said. “All staff and participants used this visual tool to record how we were feeling before and after our creative workshops.”
Emotional Symbolism
The project was facilitated by Karolina Baldyga from Anann’s Arch, who guided the women through the creative process.
“A standout moment for me occurred during our third session with the group when we were painting ceramics,” said Karolina. “One of the participants chose to create an image that represented her family who had remained in Iran. During the creative process, her emotional connection to the item was obvious.”
However, even this piece was designated for sale at the exhibition.
“On the day of the exhibition,” Karolina continued, “I felt that the emotional symbolism of this piece meant more than monetary value and so both Katy and I kept it aside as a small gift for the woman to keep.”
“Hopefully, it serves as a positive memory of the sessions,” Katy said, “and as a symbol of hope that she would be reunited with her family very soon.
Funding to Support Creating Space
Without the support from CRC, Creating Space would not have been possible. The Community Relations Cultural Diversity theme of Cultural Diversity perfectly supported our project aim: To increase creative confidence among the participants through creative exploration, decision-making, and group working by creating a safe space for women from traditionally isolated groups to explore their creativity and share their stories.” Katy Allen, Project Manager with EastSide Arts