Portland, as an Island, has a history of tragedies and has recently been in the news for housing Asylum seekers on the Bibby Stockholm Barge. I reached out voluntarily, to the young men to improve their mental health through Pottery sessions, resulting in the creation of  Japanese 'Jomon' pots and ceramic hands in various colours. I expanded their efforts by successfully working with young people at after-school clubs and organising an open studio event involving many people. The ceramic sculptures from these sessions will be used as a centrepiece for an installation. They will lead to an event involving raw clay, bringing together dance, yoga, drama, and music performers to create sculptures from raw clay. This initiative aims to bring together different community sections and create a catalyst for a collaborative artistic and cultural event, called 'Helping Hands'.

In the pursuit of creating a sense of belonging and community, I found myself drawn to a diverse group of young men who had faced their share of hardships. As a teacher, ceramic artist and painter, I seek to provide a 'safe' space for asylum seekers, disadvantaged young people and adults, integrating the arts with dance, drama, yoga, and music. This endeavour will not be without its challenges as I navigated unfamiliar territories, seeking to bridge the gap between different backgrounds and skill sets. Join me as I share the journey of bringing together individuals through the transformative power of creativity and collaboration.

The main idea is for the movement to take place with the hands of the dancers, movement and yoga stretching with lumps of raw clay as a performance.  These will be transformed by myself and made into sculptures or panels to display alongside the exhibition of photography, visual arts, performance and film/video.