Past Projects
Collage Club at The Place (2023)
In winter 2023, we trialled a trio of mid week Collage Club sessions at The Place Activity Centre in Nottingham. We took over the lovely classroom at the front of the building and spent a couple of hours playing around with paper treasure to make our own artwork. These sessions were open to the public and were run on a pay what you can basis. We loved getting to know the local community and enjoyed creating a range of collages together.
Hidden Heritage of Wellbeing (2023)
“2022 marked the 50th year of Middle Street Resource Centre in Beeston, Nottingham. For over half a century, the Centre has been supporting the wellbeing of thousands of local people with enduring mental ill health who are socially excluded from mainstream society” - Hidden Memories of Mental Healthcare
With thanks to Dr Verusca Calabria and Nottingham Trent University, and with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Thortify worked with Middle Street Centre users to explore their memories of this important community centre through art and creativity. As part of the ‘Fifty Years of Middle Street’ project, we ran a number of drop in sessions to celebrate the important role Middle Street Resource Centre plays in the community. View the full virtual audio-visual exhibition here: www.mentalhealthcarememories.co.uk
Photographs by Philip Formby (2023)
The Self Care Social (2023)
To celebrate the culmination of Arts Council England funded project, The Art of Self Care, we hosted a Self Care Social at Café Sobar in Nottingham. We exhibited newly commissioned artworks by Lotti V Closs, Tracey Meek and Julia Mai Linnea Maria, alongside a showcase of community artwork. The event hosted performances from local artists and poets including Alice Duval, Ravelle-Sáde and Matthew Fowler, as well as providing mindful activities in our creative corner. We also gave away over 300 free copies of our printed workbooks to professionals and members of the public.
Art-making with Beeston Women’s Group (2023)
As part of the ‘Fifty years of Middle Street’ project led by Nottingham Trent University, we worked with the members of Beeston Women’s Group to create and exhibit artwork in celebration of their group and their relationship with the Centre. We created a range of individual memory boxes and worked together on larger decoupage pieces to showcase the importance of the relationships within the group and how much it means the those who attend. The artwork was exhibited at Beeston Inspire Library and now forms part of an audio-visual exhibition exploring the hidden memories of mental health care. View the virtual exhibition here: www.mentalhealthcarememories.co.uk
Photographs by Philip Formby (2023)
The Art of Self Care (2021 - 2023)
With thanks to Arts Council England, we worked with a range of artists and professionals to create three self care workbooks. During this project we also delivered 10 public-facing creative workshops. Our funding enabled us to produce 900 printed workbooks for public and professional distribution. Professional settings include occupational therapy, adult social care, community mental health, counselling, vocational, educational and university settings.
Over the course of the project, Thortify’s website received 30,000 unique visits and reached 64 countries outside of the UK. Following the launch of the first workbook 'Ground Yourself' on the 10 October 2022, the website was visited over 7,000 times in the first month. The publication of our 'Reflective Journal' in late December 2022 invited a further 11,000 visits in January 2023 alone.
