Te Mahana - the warmth of the home

Over the last few months I have been working with two artists, Bridget Nawalowalo and Daisy Bingham to tell the story of their collaboration to create a new entrance way to Te Mahana, the Wellington women's homeless shelter. They worked with the Creative Communities team (Roo Rowley) at Wellington City Council to fund the project and liaise with the city. A workshop was held with the women in the shelter, exploring their concepts and feelings about 'home' and this was incorporated into the final design. Thanks to our sponsors, Bunnings who supplied building materials and labour.

Music for Life - living with dementia

I worked with music therapist, Rani Heath on a project instigated by Alzheimers Wellington (now Dementia Wellington) to explore the power of music and memory. A small group of people living with dementia worked with us over a number of months to trial the Simple Music Player. The SMP is a retro styled device that has a MP3 player in the back. Rani worked with each person to compile the 'playlist of their lives' and then saved it to the MP3. The beauty of the Simple Music Player is it is very easy to use, you just have to lift a flap and your own music plays. We had workshops at the beginning and end of the project, talking to people about the process. Watch here:

O Cambodia - realising a dream

I started a new project with Dame Gillian Whitehead and the NZ Trio to complete a wish of composer Jack Body to take their production, O Cambodia back to Cambodia with Sokha Mey, who told her story of survival to the composers. This was a collaboration with Cambodian composers, Him Sophy and

The Art of Solace

Artist and hospice nurse, Naomi Clements describes the solace of art as she completes a painting that has sat in her studio for some time...a painting she began after the summer her mother died. Now, after a workshop as part of the solace initiative, she has picked up the painting again and she talks of the process of rediscovering the time of farewelling her mother. See post on The Big Idea.

The Solace Initiative - the workshop

We had our first workshop today between 7 hospice workers and 7 creative practitioners. People came for two hours and shared stories of their lives and the things that bring them solace. From this engagement we hope to create new works to build the narrative of what brings us solace. Thanks to everyone who participated, singers, writers, composers, filmmakers and artists along with those who work alongside the dying and who are themselves artists, creative thinkers and practitioners. The lines of difference blurred as people began to talk and share their views on solace.

The 2015 Digital Residency - The Solace Initiative

Thanks to The Big Idea Trust for accepting my project, with my son Sam based in San Francisco: The Solace Initiative, to explore the question What brings us solace? I will be working with creative practitioners across arts, music, dance, sculpture and film to discover the many avenues and experiences of creative practitioners in collaboration with hospice workers. Take a look, have a think and engage with our site The Solace initiative.

Research continues

The Women from Cambodia project, whilst in post-production phase has been an amazing journey to discover links with some fantastic international photographers who have agreed to share their work for my project. In particular Jay Mather who was a photo journalist who went into Cambodia after Pol Pot was deposed and photographed the situation for those living in the refugee camps on the Thai/Cambodia border in the early eighties. Whilst this may be a story from 40 years ago, there are millions of refugees throughout the world living in these camps and through telling the story of a few women, we tell the story of many.