Intersections of Art and Policy

Janet C. Bowstead is a researcher with a professional background in frontline, policy and coordination work on violence against women. Her Practice is interdisciplinary - using sociological and geographical concepts and analysis to explore the internal migration journeys of women within the UK escaping domestic violence. Her research, (https://www.womensjourneyscapes.net/) - was funded by the British Academy and a UK Data Service Data Impact Fellowship and it includes a Participatory Photography project with women who have relocated due to domestic abuse, exploring their practical, geographical and emotional journeys towards safety and freedom.  

Amanda Camenisch is an artist and energy healer. Her practice includes photography, film, sculpture and performance. In what she calls “participatory rituals”, she aims to create spaces that allow for active imagination and play to take place. Amanda has often worked with vulnerable groups. She has facilitated instrument building workshops from recycled materials together with refugees and Greek musicians in Athens and has worked on collaborative image making practices together with sex workers. In 2019 she started the project THE SPIRAL, open circles for ventures into hidden landscapes, in which she facilitates open circles, meditation groups, workshops and retreats. 

Marysa Dowling’s practice is centred on human behaviour & relationships based on collaborative experiences, through which she explores communication, develop conversations & encourages exchange. Her work is often thoughtful and playful, created through social interaction and co-creation. She was artist in residency with GOSH Arts from 2017-19. Her current projects include; The Conversation, working with women in the UK, Ireland and Mexico using photographic portraiture to explore how we use gestures to communicate and exchange. Trellis 3 Public Art (21-22), a programme of knowledge exchange between researchers and artists. She has worked extensively with regional and global organisations on funded projects, commissions, exhibitions and residences with organisations in the UK, Ireland, Los Angeles, Cuba, South Africa, Mexico, India and Lebanon including National Portrait Gallery, Belfast Exposed, Tate, The Whitechapel Gallery, The Photographers’ Gallery, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Courtauld Gallery. 

Gaynor Tutani (Art Adlib) is a curator, producer and writer who merges her various arts, culture, community and educational passions to produce exhibitions, events and commentaries on art and curating. Her speciality is in public programming – hosting music performances, talks, interviews and poetry programs, of which she extends as part of her practice as the Creative Programing Officer at the Museum of the Home. Working across the Creative Programmes and Collections team, as well as the Commercial and Campaigns division, her role centres on aligning the Museum’s programming within the core values and vision of engaging with the museum communities through fundraising and programming that interrogates critical societal issues through an artistic practice. 

Therese Westin is an artist working with performance, movement and writing. She is also a yoga teacher, facilitating workshops, group classes and individual yoga therapy sessions. Therese spent two years teaching for Ourmala, UK charity offering yoga to refugees and asylum seekers in conjunction with the British Red Cross and Support a Survivor of Torture. Therese has also facilitated workshops in her role as an artist; conducting a weeklong workshop in Athens inviting members of the public to create flags whilst engaging in conversations surrounding nation states, borders and migration. The workshop culminated in a procession of the flags through the streets of Athens.

Mental Fight Club is the charity that aims “to promote social inclusion amongst people who are socially excluded from society or parts thereof as a result of mental ill health, through the provision of creative events that foster social connection and allow for the exploration of mental illness, recovery and well-being for all.” It exists to offer, through its programme of creative activities, the critical tools necessary for its attendees to articulate effective personal strategies to pre-empt the onset of serious mental illness, support early recovery and maintain that recovery in the long term. The charity runs two regular projects (Dragon Café and Dragon Café in the City), plus other projects – offering an eclectic mix of creative and other workshops designed to reduce stress, inspire resilience, and support wellbeing with in person and online sessions. At the core of the work of Mental Fight Club is raising awareness of the power of art to transform people’s mental wellbeing and combat feelings of Isolation. 

The Marylebone Project provides a life-changing service for women experiencing homelessness. It is open 24/7, 365 days a year, 7 days a week and is the largest and longest-running centre of its kind in London and the UK with over 90 years of experience. They provide integrated, person-centred support for women in crisis, often with multiple complex needs such as domestic violence, human trafficking and substance abuse. Within their safe environment women restore trust, learn to re-engage with society and, through empowerment, start to rebuild their lives through their all-encompassing service provision.