As lead artist for Drawing Act V: Along the Line, In the Space, I developed and facilitated a series of creative workshops in response to Drawing Room’s exhibition FIGURE/S: Drawing After Bellmer. I worked with women from South London and Maudsley’s NHS Women’s Ward to create a space centred on expression, experimentation and collective making.

The project was informed by The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, which explores the relationship between trauma, memory and the body. This provided a framework for thinking about the body not only as a site of experience, but also as a place of healing, liberation and reconnection.

Through a series of workshops, I encouraged participants to develop their own visual language using drawing, symbolism and colour. alongside peer support workers Anna Geissman and Deirdre McGale, sessions combined movement-based activities with mark making, intentionally blurring the boundaries between art and dance, facilitator and participant, and creating an environment rooted in collaboration, trust and shared experience.

The resulting drawings were shared through an intimate exhibition within the ward, alongside a publication documenting the group’s collective experience.

The project reinforced my interest in the body as both a physical and emotional archive. It also expanded my understanding of how creative practice can operate as a tool for connection, empowerment and collective care.