Springfield Spark Community Fund: Sound Minds
Springfield Spark Community Fund: Sound Minds
Sound Minds is a cross-art form charity that uses creativity to support people living with, or who have experience of, mental ill health in Wandsworth. Alongside peer support groups and music activities, it runs a busy visual arts programme from its studio and gallery space in Battersea.
Thanks to funding from the Springfield Spark Community Fund , Sound Minds was able to take its creative activities outdoors for a series of artist-led workshops in Springfield Park this summer. We spoke to Artist Facilitator Sam Haynes to find out more.
Taking art to the park
“ I help to manage our visual art programme, which has grown significantly over the last ten years. We now have an amazing studio with a small dedicated gallery in Battersea. People join our art classes either by self-referring or coming through social prescribing. Some of our attendees haven ’ t done art since school, while others are developing an ongoing artistic practice, so we are open to everyone! We also run group exhibitions and solo shows in both our gallery space and external venues.
“ When we saw the Springfield Spark Community Fund, we thought it was the perfect opportunity for us to build on the work of our studio by inviting professional artists in to share their expertise and skills, while also bringing people together outside.”
Discovering Springfield Park
“ We planned a series of art-making sessions in the park, which were inspired by the natural environment, and led by three artists with different creative practices. Because of the funding we were able to buy different materials and tools, including easels that were easy to transport and set up outside.
“ The first workshop was held by the pond, led by local artist Shehzad Jaffer, who recently graduated from the Royal College of Art. During the session we used paints and inks we ’ d not tried before, as well as practising watercolours and sketching. We also experimented with using plants to paint, as an abstract way to respond to the environment.
“ People loved that it was quiet and that they had more space than they would in a studio. It was a really relaxed atmosphere, and people could spend time with others they might not usually meet in one of our studio sessions.”
Mindful art-making
“ Our second workshop was led by Lily O ’ Connor, our Environmental Agent for Change at Sound Minds. The session took place behind the park caf é , and we took inspiration from the planters there. Lily also works at Kew Gardens so she had lots of knowledge about plants, which meant we could really respond and understand the green space we were in.
“ Alongside the workshop, Lily led some mindful exercises, which alongside the calming impact of being outdoors, helped people to relax and really immerse themselves in the art making process.”
Learning from guest artists
“ Amanda Blunden, a local artist in Tooting joined us for our third and final workshop. We sat by a very old tree, where she took us through several activities about mark-making, rubbings, sketching and freer approaches that loosened people up in the way they respond to green spaces. Amanda also shared her sketch books with us for inspiration, focusing on semi-abstract landscapes, many of which were from the local area.
“ As not everyone likes the structure of a workshop, we made sure to leave time for people to break away and do their own thing. Some people want to come and sketch rather than take part in an activity, so we made sure to cater for everyone ’ s needs.”
Seeing Springfield differently
“ When we first said the workshops would be at Springfield, people assumed that we meant the hospital. They were surprised when they discovered it was in the park – only one person had been there before. But everyone really enjoyed learning about and exploring the space and are keen to do more workshops outside in the future.
“ In one session we even spotted a heron in the pond, which people drew and took photos of, and we are still using as inspiration in the studio. While one participant enjoyed the sessions so much that they stayed in the park afterwards with some of the materials to carry on.
Supporting wellbeing through creativity
“ From an art-making perspective, people who took part are now continuing with the themes and techniques we explored, such as landscape painting and looser, freer art styles. Everyone enjoyed hearing about the artists ’ own practices and receiving feedback on their own work. It helped improve people ’ s confidence, and in turn, their wellbeing. Being able to work with Shehzad, Lily and Amanda has been so valuable.
The general feeling within each session was supportive and having the freedom to experiment in a non-judgemental, non-competitive space has been really impactful. The process of making art together, in a calm outdoor space, was as important as the end product, and many participants were visibly happier by the end of a session.
“ Being able to buy high-quality drawing materials, new sketch books and light-weight easels made a big difference and something we can continue to use in the studio or future outdoor workshops. The photos we took throughout each session have also been put up in our studio, so people who didn ’ t come to the session can use them for their work.”
“ Overall the feedback has been really positive and we ’ re thinking about what workshops we could do in the future, as well as how we can continue to invite guest artists to join our sessions.”
About Springfield Spark
This fund is made possible through Springfield Village , a partnership between our Trust, Barratt London, London Square and City & Country, supported by master developer STEP. The fund was open to constituted community groups, charities and social enterprises in the London Borough of Wandsworth, with a focus on Tooting, Earlsfield and Balham.
