Life in a Coastal Town Exhibition
Keira Pool Co-researcher reflects on the Life in a Coastal Town Exhibition…
On Tuesday the 15th September at 5pm, i attended Blackpool and Fylde University campus, to view the exhibition ‘Life In a Coastal Town’ for the Coastal Community & Creative Health Project (CCCH). The other sites of the CCCH project attended, and it was a great opportunity for everyone to come together. I was a co-researcher for the young people’s mental health workshops, and this was a showcase of the work from those workshops and from the ones focusing on Substance Use and Bereavement. https://www.boingboingfoundation.org.uk/blog/coastal-communities-creative-health-creative-workshops-rn347. It also showcased work from the EmpowerArt group. I attended to gain insight on the other workshops work and show support for people who were involved, and who were speaking during the exhibition.
Board with information on the Exhibition.
Lauren Wyatt (Co-research and Engagement Lead) and Keira Pool (Co-researcher) taking a selfie in front of their work created in the workshops.
Some of the BBF team posing on the college stairs
Something I really enjoyed was seeing the outcome of everyone's hard work displayed, with some pieces that were created having a strong emotional impact on myself and others. Being able to have conversations about the artwork and explore how others felt about them too was something I enjoyed. I was also happy to meet and interact with everyone in person, as the conversations during CCCH mainly took place over email and teams. This whole experience was important as I was able to build stronger connections with people through discussing the artwork and felt grateful to be a part of the project as I got to see the outcome of the hard work everyone has done.
Charcoal artwork from the Substance Use workshops
Embroidery artwork from the Youth Mental Health Workshops
I overall learned a lot from doing the workshops for CCCH, such as facilitation and using creative methods within research. Talking with others and hearing them reflect on their experiences during the workshops, was also something interesting as I could see some similarities in our experiences, as well as hear more detail about theirs.
Something I’ll take away from this project is importance of using creative methods within research, and the impact that can have on people. Especially when expressing a feeling or thought around a potentially sensitive topic. Such as mental health, substance misuse and bereavement. From what I saw, this project gave people the space to be themselves and be supported with any creative ideas that they had. Sometimes when they couldn’t put into words how they were feeling, they could express it through a form of art, which is something very beautiful. I also feel now, I have the necessary skills to go forward and know how to navigate another project that uses creative methods again.