God, I’m in my element here… can you tell? Talking about art, mindfulness, mental health—and just how hard it can be sometimes to be human in the 21st century. The photographer captured a beautiful snapshot of a really great session. Thanks, Helen! This is a glimpse of a group of strangers experiencing that all-important senseContinue reading “Creating safety – the facilitator’s role”
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Doing ‘the work’ and loving it.
I’m off to, what is fast becoming my second city, Liverpool to deliver a creative wellbeing workshop at Walker Art Gallery for North West Federation of Artists. A colleague asked me if I’d still be delivering workshops in my new life as a museum consultant. ‘Of course!’ I replied, probably a bit too enthusiastically, asContinue reading “Doing ‘the work’ and loving it.”
‘What can we do to help?’ It’s a simple question but it means so much.
Happy Friday everyone, what’s been your Highlight of the Week? Mine was zooming with the senior leaders from The Armory Arts Centre, in Pasadena, California. The Armory has recently been at the frontline of a major disaster with the LA wildfires decimating huge parts of their local community. They got in touch with me to discussContinue reading “‘What can we do to help?’ It’s a simple question but it means so much.”
Art, barbershops and the power of listening
My father, a barber, understood the power of listening. I learnt from him how important it is. ‘The barber is the working man’s psychiatrist.’ he would tell us. His customers ranged from judges in the high court of Ireland to members of the paramilitaries and everyone in between. I would ask him what sorts ofContinue reading “Art, barbershops and the power of listening”
Navigating traumatic museum collections
Last week I travelled to my hometown Belfast to speak to the wonderful staff at the Ulster Museum. 🏛️ I met with Louise Smyth and the curator of The Troubles and Beyond exhibition Karen Logan and asked them how the museum navigated working with collections that are so explicitly connected to personal and collective trauma.ThereContinue reading “Navigating traumatic museum collections”
thinking out loud
I’m in Milan! On holiday with my family… but visiting the many wonderful museums here I can’t help but reflect on what a trauma-informed museum would look, feel, behave like. On a visit to one museum I was told I had to follow a particular route around the spaces. When I tried to go aContinue reading “thinking out loud”
Louise Thompson 