Draw Hope
Draw Hope is an inspiring collaborative art project that invites participants with lived experience of self-harm or suicide* to create unique, personalised tree mural using their footprints and handprints. Through various creative mediums, including drawing, painting, collage and text, individuals can document their past experiences and future aspirations. The project aims to promote creativity and self-expression, and welcomes participation from all, including remote contributors who can submit their work anonymously.
The Draw Hope project is part of the Kent County Council’s Hope Community Arts Fund, which has supported over 15 different arts projects in the past five years. These projects have shown the positive impact that the arts can have, boosting confidence and providing a safe form of expression for participants.
Completed tree artworks were exhibited at the Turner Contemporary alongside works from other Hope Community Fund projects before embarking on a tour around Kent. This showcase coincides with the Baton of Hope journey, which aims to be the largest suicide awareness and prevention initiative in the UK, fostering necessary conversations and prompting appropriate actions.
*By this we mean those who have experienced or lived with suicidal thoughts or have attempted suicide.
Through a series of workshops, participants were guided through the creation of their own personalised tree using their own footprints and handprints and exploring a diverse range of creative techniques and mediums. Footprints form the trunk of their trees, while the branches and leaves take shape through the outlines of their outstretched arms and hands. Each footprint depicts a significant milestone in their lives, symbolising the steps that have brought them to where they stand today. Additionally, the handprints showcase their hopes and dreams for the future.
This project has served as a profound journey of self-reflection, empowering individuals to contemplate their past experiences and the limitless possibilities that lie ahead. Our stories are ongoing, and we continue to grow, with boundless potential awaiting us. Every tree created becomes part of a collective forest, together, they serve as a poignant reminder of the inner journey that each and every one of us embarks upon.
Read Article - A Show of Hope for Kent and Medway
Read Article - The most powerful antidote to despair is hope
This project is a grantee of the ‘Hope’ Community Arts Fund from the Kent & Medway Suicide Prevention Programme.
The HOPE Community Arts Fund has been selected as a winner of the Kent Mental Wellbeing Awards for 2023.
More than 220 nominations were received this year from across Kent, Medway, Bexley and Bromley and the judging panel chose this project as one of the 30 winners.
EXHIBITING
Launch Event
Turner Contemporary, Margate
Tues 18th Jul 2023
Fremlin Walk, Unit 10, Maidstone
24th – 28th Jul 2023
Chatham Library and community Hub
31st Jul – 4th Aug 2023
Trinity Theatre, Royal Tunbridge Wells
7th –11th Aug 2023
