About Community Threads
For eight weeks our art therapists offered a creative table inviting visitors to the day centre to join in sewing and embroidery. Over 80 men, women and children created an array of images onto Binka squares.
Community Threads was a successful two month pilot working in collaboration with Hackney Migrant Centre (HMC), where Draw On facilitated an art therapy group for adults visiting the service.
Hackney Migrant Centre offer free legal, housing and welfare advice to refugee, asylum seekers and migrants within London. They run a weekly day centre where visitors can enjoy a hot meal together, socialise and access valuable advice and health services in a safe environment.
Comments and Feedback
During the groups many people commented on the therapeutic nature of sewing and the benefits of being absorbed in the art making and therefore distracted from the difficult situations they were facing. We collected anonymous feedback to help us evaluate the project. Here's what some of the participants said...
Group members told us that before they joined the group they were feeling "Very anxious and very scared of what the future holds" but that after art making within the groups they felt "A little relaxed and happy"
One participant said that the art making helped make their "mind free and feel relaxed".
We were told by a group member that "It is good, enjoyable and a stress relief"
Exhibition
Over the eight weeks participants chose to sew their individual pieces together to create an incredible Binka quilt!
The Binka squares hold personal and collective messages for loved ones, HMC visitors and the group participants.
The Dalston CLR James Library kindly exhibited the quilt across January and February 2020, inviting viewers to share with the art work and comment on the piece.
Unfortunately due to COVID 19 regulations funding to continue Community Threads was placed on pause in 2020, but we hope to continue this project in partnership with HMC and are still fundraising through our Just Giving.
You can help us reach our target by donating on our page us! All contributions are welcomed.
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This pilot project was made possible by the Mayor of London's Culture Seeds fund.