INCLUSIVE ART SPACES
INCLUSIVE ART SPACES
“Artwork often reflects the lived and living experiences of people and communities, inviting connection through our own experiences. This can evoke both powerful and subtle responses from within. When this impacts our sense of safety and wellbeing, we need to be able to access an informed, supportive response that navigates us to a place where our need for restoration is understood and cared for by the gallery or museum creating the space for us to experience the artwork.”
Committed to creating equal and inclusive spaces, we collaborated with Fruitmarket Edinburgh to create a self-care and wellbeing support guide to ensure that the wellbeing of visitors to the Howardena Pindell: A New Language exhibition was supported throughout their visit.
Howardena Pindell’s work explores traumatic historical content including themes of colonialism and slavery. When we are exposed to any form of traumatic content, it is normal for us to feel impacted and have a response. Our response varies depending on our lived experience and life history. The self-care and wellbeing support guide offered trauma-informed support for visitors during the exhibition and aftercare for when their visit ended.
“...the abstract works are more like an intense relief, a kind of visual healing, so that you get some distance from what you’ve seen. Then you can have a more peaceful or critical way to acknowledge what you’ve seen. And it helps you maybe overcome some of those deadly emotions that come from being shocked. So I want people to see... It’s like using beauty as a healing element, and for me making them has a healing side to it.”
Howardena Pindell, 2020
Howardena Pindell’s first solo exhibition in a public organisation in the UK after Fruitmarket Edinburgh travelled to Kettle’s Yard Cambridge and Spike Island Bristol. We worked alongside their team to understand their communities’ needs, and facilitated delivering bespoke support and care alongside the Howardena Pindell exhibition.
Work With Us
We're committed to collaborating closely with galleries/museums and the exhibiting artist(s) to develop a trauma-informed approach to engaging and connecting with exhibitions. Our priority is to ensure that the exhibition’s content remains authentic to the needs of the artist(s) while also aligning with the exhibition's overarching intentions for the audience. Additionally, we'll collaborate with the gallery/museum to gain insight into their community needs, allowing us to provide tailored support and care resources to enhance the visitor experience.
Your wellbeing and comfort are our priority and we're dedicated to creating a supportive environment for all involved.