Charmaine, Arnold House’s shining star!

10/01/2019

For two and half years, CM Artist Hanna has been running art sessions at Arnold House, Leonard Cheshire, a facility for people with profound physical disabilities. During that time she formed a strong bond with one resident, Charmaine, who’s sheer determination and strength of character never ceased to amaze her. Charmaine has cerebral palsy and is unable to move from the neck down. Despite her physical challenges, she is always enthusiastic and willing to give anything a go.

When they first met, Hanna gently encouraged her to try holding a paintbrush in her mouth and experiment with mark-making, as she held out the paper for her to paint on. At the end of her first session she was thrilled with what she had achieved. Since then, Hanna has been delighted to see Charmaine’s confidence in her creative ability blossom. Each week she loves learning about different creative mediums and is always enthusiastic to try something new.

Charmaine attended our recent workshop at the Tate Exchange and really got stuck in, painting feathers for a peacock sculpture and flowers for the installation. She couldn’t have been more excited to see some of her own creations on display at the Tate. The look of pure joy and happiness at what she had achieved at the end of the day was absolutely priceless!

CM Artist Hanna commented; “Charmaine is such a vibrant, fun and happy person. She is like a shining star and always makes me feel incredibly humble.”

The Tate Exchange project took place from Wednesday 15th to Friday 17th May and was a huge success! Thank you again to all of the CM Artists and their clients that attended.

You can find our earlier Tate Exchange blog post here:
http://159.65.94.31/creative-minds-at-the-tate-exchange/

‘The Museum of Things That Don’t Stand Still’ – Creative Minds at the Tate Exchange

06/25/2019

We were sad to see the end of our 3-day project at the Tate Exchange which ran 15^th – 17^th May in collaboration with MA students from the University of Westminster. The project was themed around “movement” in response to the current exhibition at The Tate Modern by Jenny Holzer. This has inspired the project to explore ideas surrounding migration, flight and reflect on the way in which we all move through life. The project brought together a diverse range of people, young and old to explore their creativity and add their own piece of art to our interactive installation “The Museum of Things That Don’t Stand Still.”

In the run up to the event at the Tate Exchange, the students joined a number of our artists for their sessions, and created pieces of work as a starting point for the installation. Delicate origami birds were created during these sessions, plus piles of pretty hand-crafted flowers. We gained access to the venue at the beginning of the week, and all hands were on deck. CM Artists worked hard with the students, and the installation began to take shape ready for the project to open to the public on Wednesday the 15^th May.

A number of our clients joined us for the event, and people visiting the gallery dropped in to take part. They had the option to create feathers to add to our giant wings, Percy the peacock, or flowers and leaves to add to a walk-through passage.

Alternatively people could come and create their own pair of super-powered shoes. Imaginations ran wild as people had fun deciding on ways in which they could power them up!

Participant Derek Kingsleigh said: “It’s an incredible place with all the our flowers and leaves we made. You did so much with the space. I’m not just impressed I’m very very impressed.”

Christine, aged 102 really got stuck in and left the session saying: “Amazing, I’ve had a wonderful time. I’ll come again!”

By the close of the event at the Tate Exchange, you could walk down a colourful passage beautifully decorated with flowers and birds. Percy the grand peacock stood proud and tall with beautifully decorated feathers in his train. Our open wings sculpture looked vibrant, with all the pretty feathers participants added to it. The finished display of super-powered shoes looked remarkable, and included shoes that allowed you to explore the galaxy, bring light into people’s lives, shoes that spread happiness and shoes which meant they could live that day again at the Tate!

We loved each individual’s unique and imaginative take on the themes.

Our artists thoroughly enjoyed themselves too…

“It was so wonderful to see people connecting while making. People who’d never met before from all over the world! It gave them a space to play, contemplate and be in the moment.” Sarah Jane

“This was another example of how art elevates humanity. I got a huge satisfaction from seeing participants so profoundly happy to be creating art in such an amazing setting.” Hanna

What a thoroughly uplifting experience, which brought together people from all walks of life to enjoy the benefits that communal creative activities can bring.

At the end of the day CM Community Manager Sarah, who has been project managing the event, received this heart-warming feedback from one attendees: “I was so deeply moved by today’s event. Combining creativity, art, imagination and giving to others. It was extraordinary! You should feel extremely good and at peace in your heart.”

Creative Minds at the Tate Exchange!

04/07/2019

In May 2018 a number of CM Artists worked on an exciting art project at the Tate Modern’s Tate Exchange led by MA students from Westminster University alongside residents from Snowdrop House, Enfield and Appleby House, Epsom. They had the opportunity to not only visit this iconic gallery, but also take part in a ‘Dreamweavers Workshop’ creating a striking installation that was on display at the gallery over Easter! This was a very moving and thought-provoking project for all involved and was a wonderful experience for all the residents who took part. Nicky, Lifestyle Lead at Snowdrop House commented: “Residents and staff made art work using fabrics and textiles to incorporate dreams they’ve had. This was such a fun exercise and it evoked different emotions in everybody involved. One gentleman use to dream about his wife whom had passed a few years previously, and he found it very cathartic. All I can say is what a fantastic day we had. And it’s not everyday you can say that you had work displayed at the Tate!”

We’re excited to announce that we’ll back again at the Tate Exchange in May, working in collaboration with Westminster University on another project! This three-day workshop will run from 15th – 17th May and is open for anyone to come and take part and add to an interactive installation.

The theme this year is “Movement” and is a response to the current exhibition at The Tate Modern by Jenny Holzer. This has inspired the project to explore ideas surrounding migration and flight, reflecting the way in which we all move through life. On the run up to the 15th of May, our artists will be working on the project and will be joined by students from Westminster University, creating art work with their clients at Care Homes to bring along to the Tate Exchange. This will be installed as a starting point to inspire the 3-day workshop.

We’ll be sharing lots of updates across our social media channels on the run up to the Tate Exchange project, so be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for all the behind-the-scenes action. All are welcome to join us for this exciting workshop!

We hope to see you there!

The CM Artists included in the project are:
Hanna, Cherry, Caroline, Sasha, Alice, George, Kirsteen, Karen, Sarah Jane and Laura.

Clients include:
Residents at Chiswick Care, Arnold House, Kew House, The Burroughs, Foxes Den, Mountbatten, Kingsley, Gable Court, Moor House, Clara Court, plus some clients who receive one-to-one art sessions with CM Artists.