Arts
In this episode, Hannah is joined by Alex Coulter (Director of AHSW) and artists Natasha, Gavin and Max. All 5 reflect on their experience of being involved in the 2020 Spring School just before lockdown, where the theme was 'making new meaning from illness', and where we explored using creative activities to support resilience and wellbeing. We talk about how we have each used creativity in times of isolation to "extend ourselves beyond our situations", and share thoughts on how creativity can enable you to be still and yet flourish and connect in other ways, and make the process of "relating" into something very beautiful. Natasha, Gavin and Max share the ways they feel that they have learned to cope with isolation, before Covid-19, and we think about how isolation can operate in many different ways, for instance when you're in a group of people that perceive you to be different. We discuss what "productivity" means to each of us and how we might challenge this idea, drawing out what it might mean to nurture a sense of purpose, value and meaning in our lives. Some links to what we mentioned in the conversation: AHSW Spring School info: https://www.ahsw.org.uk/opportunities/spring-school/ Alex's Blog: https://www.ahsw.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Spring-School-Blog-Alex-Coulter.pdf Max's Blog: https://www.ahsw.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Max-Frances-Absentee-Artist-Blog-Spring-2020.pdf Grayson Perry's Art Club: https://www.channel4.com/programmes/graysons-art-club Covid-19 Resources Page: https://www.ahsw.org.uk/resources/covid-19-resources/