Animates

Funded by Arts Council England, ANIMATES was a participatory, multi-arts programme connecting communities across Derby and Derbyshire through workshops inspired by our relationship with the natural world.

I led the project with a team of creative practitioners, supporting participants in exploring their personal encounters with nature through mask-making, visual art, music, photography, dance, puppetry and theatre. Sessions were designed using specialist insight, scientific research and public policy to deepen understanding and spark creativity.

Over 250 people took part, including school groups and adults, with a strong commitment to inclusion across Derbyshire’s diverse communities, including Caribbean, Irish, Chinese, Indian and Polish groups and members of the Derby Refugee Sanctuary.

ANIMATE culminated in a Virtual Reality exhibition supported by QUAD, The Museum of Making, the University of Derby and Derby CAN.

I love to engage with wildlife and natural history, whether that is exhibitions, museums, documentaries, walks in nature or when I travel. This project was so enjoyable because I got to blend those with co-creative endeavour. Seeing multi-generation families work together in the workshops to create new work was very inspiring, only improved by observing them take part in the final VR experience together.

The work takes audiences through diagnosis, treatment and survival with a tone that is urgent and unfiltered, sometimes inappropriate, often cheeky, and always human.

This show remains close to my heart, it was inspired by personal loss and seeing my families struggle with the fallout of cancer. It was my first solo show and despite the content, it was great fun to work on, it really helped shine a torch to find the way forward for me, and I truly hope it did the same or similar to the audiences.