Our 6-Week Creativity as Self-Care Workshops

Creativity Workshops - Our Reflections

Our first 6 week course on the topic of Creativity as Self-Care is all done! It’s been a really useful experience to plan and deliver. Our aim was to give people time and support to develop ways of using creativity to look after themselves. The course was developed in response to Audre Lorde’s idea that self-care is not a selfish act, but a political act of self-preservation for us lgbtq+ people of colour.

Self-care has become an overused phrase and because of this, people can be suspicious of it as an idea. We encouraged people to think more carefully about the ideas of ‘ourselves’ and what care looks like and feels like. Self-care when done properly should feel personal and meaningful and we encourage people to think of it as a lifelong practice rather than something that you can just do once or twice.

Creativity, particularly through activities like drawing, offers us a pathway to reconnect with our innate need for joy and playfulness. As adults, we often become overly critical of our creative endeavors, which can easily spill over into other parts of our lives.

The course explored the idea of the ‘inner critic’ and its impact on our creativity. We also delved into ways of expressing our emotions through art. The final bits of the course encouraged people to put these ideas together into a piece of creativity that summarises what good enough self-care looks like for them.

Looking ahead, we're considering how to further develop this course and plan to offer another series in the future.

If you have any questions or ideas for future sessions, don't hesitate to reach out. Follow us on Eventbrite to stay updated on upcoming courses or subscribe to our newsletter or Instagram for more updates.

With warm wishes,

The Open Minds Project ­