Current projects
‘Freedom to Create’ sessions (2025)
Creative collaboration is what we are all about at Thortify. During these drop in sessions, we give you time to dip into our resources and seek out your own inspiration. It could be an image, a word or colour that sparks an idea. Whatever it might be, we can offer guidance where it’s needed and leave you to it when it’s not. It’s this freedom that truly empowers people to see themselves as creatives - and we feel that’s important.
Sessions are free to attend at the moment, but we do encourage participants to make a small donation towards our costs if they are able. If our recent funding bid is successful, we will be able to expand on available self care sessions, so keep following us on Facebook and Instagram for updates. We certainly have everything crossed here at Thortify HQ!
If you would like to be part of the Thortify Art Hub community, get in touch via our socials or pop in and see us at The Place Community and Activity Centre in Sherwood on Friday afternoons between 1.30 - 3pm.
Artist Workspace - Building our community (2025)
Our new art space enables artists to develop socially-engaged practices in a collaborative environment. The Kiln Room has been remodelled to provide 5 workspaces for community-focused local artists working across diverse disciplines. We currently have 3 artists based in the artspace, with two vacancies remaining.
Artist workspace for 2 creative practitioners currently available
Access to shared exhibition and workshop space
Power, water, wifi, tea station and 24/7 access
Collaborative community art projects and more!
If you are interested in hiring a workspace, please email thortify@gmail.com to arrange a viewing.
Gateway to Creativity (2025)
In collaboration with The Place Community and Activity Centre and our friends at Sherwood Art Week, we are inviting local children to help design our new entrance! The winning design will be painted onto the gate during Sherwood Art Week; the 28th June to the 6th July 2025. The top 5 runners up will also receive a creative prize. If you would like to take part, please collect or download the free worksheet and get creative! For more info about the competition, please click here.
Past projects
The creation of Thortify HQ (2023 - 2024)
In late 2023, Thortify took on an ambitious renovation project to transform a decommissioned space in a local community centre into a functional and accessible community art space. With a wealth of hands on support from volunteers (including Good Gym Nottingham), we cleaned, scraped, sanded, dusted, hoovered, mopped, painted, polished, scrubbed, varnished, swept, cleaned and hoovered again and eventually made the space our own. With generous community support through an amazing crowd funding scheme we managed to employ some local professionals to help us with the electrics, plumbing and the painting of the very high ceilings. We were also able to pay a brilliant local carpenter to build our bespoke art space desks, dividers and exhibition rails. We’d like to say a huge thank you to Space Hive and Nottingham City Council for their financial support and to The Place Community and Activity Centre Committee and every single volunteer and contractor who helped us to transform our new space into our new Community Art Hub.
Nottingham Trent University seminar (Sep 2024)
Thortify were invited to share our experience in co-creating mental health heritage with the European Healthcare histories research network organised by Dr Verusca Calabria of Nottingham Trent University and held at Antenna. We were delighted to outline our creative involvement in working with people with lived experience as part of the Hidden Heritage of Wellbeing project and to share some of our insights. This important network brings together academics and professionals from the GLAM industry in Europe (galleries, libraries, archives and museums). The network is funded by the European Union COST Action to foster collaboration and increase knowledge around diverse methodological approaches. We enjoyed hearing about some of the incredible research projects being undertaken by this network and look forward to finding out more.
University of Nottingham Summer School (July 2024)
We provided a creative wellbeing workshop for a range of mature students attending the Summer School programme at the University of Nottingham. We offered a welcoming and relaxing collage club session to help the students relax and ground themselves as they prepared for their exams. The students created a range of work including collaged postcards, hand made booklets and self care scrapbooks.
Frontline team away day (Feb 2024)
As a thank you for a team of frontline professionals, we delivered a bespoke session of our Collage Club workshop as part of the workforce ‘away day’. Delivered in a residential day centre, the group worked together to produce a range of artwork focusing on colleagues individual strengths and the shared values of the team. This session allowed the busy team a brief respite from their workload and offered the perfect excuse for a bit of creativity.
Rumour has it, some of the artwork is still on display in the office over a year later!
Collage Club at The Place (Oct - Dec 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.
University of Nottingham workshop (Nov 2023)
We had the pleasure of providing the students of the University of Nottingham with a creative wellbeing workshop during ‘wobble week’. Taking part in the Liberation Hub in the Portland building and In collaboration with the fabulous University of Nottingham wellbeing team, we worked alongside the students to create a range of collage artwork and discuss all things self care. Students were also given printed copies of our Self Care Workbook to help them prioritise their wellbeing as they settle into their university life.
Hidden Heritage of Wellbeing (2023 - 2024)
“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)
Public workshop at Central Library (Dec 2023)
We delivered a public drop in Art of Self Care workshop at Nottingham Central Library as part of the Hidden Heritage of Wellbeing project. We enjoyed making a range of art work with members of the public including families with young children and adults, including some users of the Middle Street Day Centre who had engaged with the Heritage project and were proudly exhibiting their work in the main foyer. We provided a wide range of materials and creative resources which enabled participants to explore their creativity and produce a vibrant array of work. One of the really lovely aspects of the session was the way people interacted with each other throughout. There were open discussions about the ideas behind their work, people helped each other to make creative decisions, with advice being offered by both young and old alike.
The Self Care Social (April 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.
Public Workshop at Beeston Library (April 2023)
With thanks to Dr Verusca Calabria and Nottingham Trent University, and with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, we delivered a public workshop at Beeston Library. Forming part of the Hidden Heritage of Wellbeing project, we created our own self care boxes inspired by the fabulous work by the Beeston Women’s Group which was exhibited beautifully in the adjoining room.
Here is some feedback from participants who attended the session;
“I loved the relaxed environment and be able to just sit and create some art”.
“The variety of different things that you can do being creative is good for your mental health and soul.”
“I was feeling good today however after the lovely session I felt so relaxed and inspired, thank you.”
Art-making with Beeston Women’s Group (Feb 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.
The Self Care Scrapbook (2020)
The Self Care Scrapbook project invited participants to explore social theory and to make and share their own creative self care work as part of an online community, using a variety of hashtags and social media platforms to connect with a likeminded community. This project helped Thortify develop our unique approach towards engaging with the public through creative prompts and activities, encouraging a sense of connectedness during the isolation of the pandemic.
"I don't really consider myself a creative person but the Self Care Scrapbook project has helped me to recognise that I can be creative & also as a reminder to put myself first. Just seeing [the artwork] helps” - Anonymous participant.