A Shared Space for Change
This final post reflects on what the project has become, and where it is heading next.
A shared space for change
The final installation involves many modular interactive artworks which each presents the key materials and themes of a particular workshop. The central piece is the ‘synaptic tunnel’ which is an arch, a curved structure that spans the space to support and adorn the work by the community partners, which is shaped by many hands and lived experiences. This piece is an ever changing composition of the community work activated and moved through your hands.
Every artwork is built for reshaping and changing, linking with the core question.Participants embedded their own thoughts, gestures, and processes into the work. Each element carries a trace of time, of touch, of transformation. And the impact extended far beyond the making itself.
As one participant shared:
“My mind is usually very chaotic, but having that time to do something creative and mindful has been really grounding. It’s given me space to slow down and be present in a way I don’t often allow myself.”
And another:
“I used to feel guilty taking time out for myself, but I’ve realised how important it is. These workshops have helped ground me and given me tools to deal with the pressures of everyday life.”
Why this matters
This project has reinforced something I’ve long felt in my practice, but now understand more deeply:
that making can be a way of understanding,
that touch can be a way of processing,
and that creativity can open up space where words often fall short.
By bringing together art, science, and community, 'Threads of Memory' offers a different approach to trauma, one that is embodied, sensory, and collective. Not about fixing, but about creating the conditions for change, reflected in the adaptability and evolution of each piece within the work.
What feels most significant is the lasting impact of this collaboration. Participants not only developed new craft skills, but also gained insight into the neuroscience of memory, beginning to understand how their thoughts and emotions are shaped, and how they might gently shift over time. At the same time, the project has shown that trauma-informed, creative approaches can exist meaningfully beyond clinical settings. It offers a model for community-based practice that is accessible, replicable, and rooted in care. Where healing can begin through shared making, sensory experience, and connection.
What’s next
This project has proven that collaboration can create meaningful change for individuals through craft, community and by gently tapping into our senses to understand sometimes difficult or obscure concepts. This is a strand of my practice I am eager to grow and nurture to share innovative research through accessible and embodied learning and awakening.
If you work in similar fields or have a specific audience you feel could benefit through collaborating with me, let's get the ball rolling and have a chat.
Next steps..
This feels like the beginning, not the end. We’re now looking to develop the next phase of this work, touring the installation, expanding the workshops, finding new audiences, deepening the research, and growing what is becoming our Touch & Trace collective.
We’re actively seeking funding to continue building this work to reach more communities and explore new ways of connecting memory, the arts and healing with future collaborators.
There’s so much more to discover here and we’re only just at the start.
Let’s keep building this together.
