Re-discovery: Autumn 2024 programme

Join us on the first Monday of the month during our exhibitions, from 2-4pm, for our creative sessions for those living with dementia and their carers. This is an opportunity to explore materials and themes in the works on display in our current exhibitions through practical making, discussion or just meeting and connecting with other people over a cup of tea in a relaxed creative setting.

We have space for 16 participants at each session, please book by emailing [email protected]

Our autumn sessions will be led by artist Alice Blackstock and sessions will take place on:

Monday 7th October 2024

The session will start with a meet and great with live storytelling about the piece of work in the library, followed by a guided drawing exercises – drawing from imagination as well as prompts.

Monday 4th November 2024

After a catch up, there will be a demonstration of how to weave strips of fabric onto a cardboard loom.  Everyone will be given a shaped loom based on their drawing of a river from the previous week. Everyone will begin their weaving, choosing different colours of fabric.

Monday 2nd December 2024

After a catch up we will speak and read a few river related poems or songs, before everyone continues to weave their river.  These will be then be unhooked from the cardboard loom, shared and can be taken home.

Each session is designed as a continuation of the last, however participants are not required to join all three sessions if they are not able to do so.

Tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided at each session.

The sessions will also be an opportunity to engage with the artworks in the Drawing Room gallery and be co-facilitated by artist and Rare Space coordinator Charlie Harrison and Drawing Room librarian Yamuna Ravindran.

We have space for 16 participants at each session, please book by emailing [email protected]

From 2024-2025 Drawing Room is working in partnership with Rare Space on these sessions.  Rare Space is an exciting new venture for Rare Dementia Support (RDS) which brings together and celebrates the creative and cultural life of RDS members, both in person and online.

Alice Blackstock is an artist, educator and caregiver from Belfast. She crafts tangible imagery that captures human experiences and fleeting moments in time. Alice uses drawing, sound and textiles which she sees as a soft, non-aggressive and nostalgic medium. Her most recent work ‘Can you draw a river?’ is a woven cloth piece which has been made in collaboration with those living with dementia and is inspired by a drawn conversation between Alice and her father. This conversation used imagery instead of words as her dad was non-verbal due to dementia. As an educator, Alice is passionate about further and community education. She is inspired by those striving to discover new skills regardless of barriers to learning.