Announcing the selected artists for FLOURISH 2

We are delighted to announce the artists selected for FLOURISH 2 – our second programme of Arts for Health & Wellbeing training. The creative practitioners below have been successful in securing a place on this free programme.

We had over 40 applications from local artists; the standard was incredibly high and the selection process was tough. We’re working with artists across a broad range of mediums. All are either complete beginners or have up to 1-year of experience in their field.

All participants are offered workshops, mentoring, work shadowing and peer-to-peer support opportunities.

The programme is facilitated by Jane McMorrow, Director of Creative Future. The series of workshops are being delivered by:

• Emma Drew Director of Robin Hood Health Foundation
• Polly Irvin & Branwen Lorigan Co Directors of Orange Collective
• Nicola Naismith visual artist, coach & lecturer
• Dominique De-Light Director of Well Balanced Coaching

We’re really excited to begin the journey with our second cohort of artists on the FLOURISH programme and look forward to seeing where it takes them.

The selected FLOURISH 2 artists are:

• Monir Amiri (she/her) is the founder of Beauty of Clay. It started in 2018 in Hangleton & Knoll, Hove, with the support of the Hangleton & Knoll Project and funding from UNLtd. She runs affordable pottery & ceramic workshops sharing insights into Persian culture and the intimacy, richness and beauty of Persian ceramic art and design
• Kate Adams (she/her) is a dance artist and teacher of all ages who loves to give her students the opportunity to create and perform their dances. She has danced and choreographed in contemporary, West African, hip hop and Bollywood/Bhangra styles and designs and makes costumes and props for her dance, often using recycled items.
• Tom Banks (he/him) is a printmaker and digital artist. He is the lead practitioner and founder of H’Art & Soul Print, a creative company running printing workshops in the community. His mission is to encourage creativity, whilst cultivating a connection with nature. He would like to make printing practices accessible to all.
• Heidi Compton’s (she/her) background is in photography, illustration and display. In 2014 she began running art classes for children and went on to do art interventions. In 2020 she began working with HERA running classes for wellbeing for adults and teens. In 2021 she set up classes to support NHS workers.
• Adriana Lord (she/her) is a singer-songwriter, writer, theatre performer and singing group leader. She uses her creative expression to entertain while opening people to connections and healing as well as raising awareness about social issues. She currently runs “Songs From Home: A Group Singing Workshop” weekly at The Actors Brighton.
• Joe Lott (she/her) is a choreographer for screen and augmented reality, a creative mentor, independent dance producer, and arts marketing specialist.  She has presented dance works at festivals across the UK, and received the Bonnie Bird Choreo award in 2014. Joe believes in the wisdom and intuition of the body, and dancing for joy and self-expression rather than getting the steps ‘right’.
• Simon Maddrell (he/him) is a queer Manx man, thriving with HIV. He is published in fifteen anthologies and publications including AMBIT, Butcher’s Dog, The Moth, The Rialto, Poetry Wales, Stand, Under the Radar. In 2020, Simon’s debut, Throatbone, was published by UnCollected Press and Queerfella jointly won The Rialto Open Pamphlet Competition.
• Maddie Millett (she/her)  has always had a love of clay. She is fascinated by ancient pottery, especially depicting female deities. Her research into this has influenced her work. She feels a strong connection to the past through what she makes with clay and yet it is also a very immediate material that enables her to be intuitive and spontaneous, often taking her in unexpected directions.
• Diensen Pamben (he/him) is based in Brighton. He has a broad range of media experience and his main area of interest is photography. His style tends to revolve around street photography, sometimes with an eye on social issues and a story. He has a strong interest in mental health and wellbeing and he’d like to use photography to help people connect and explore some of their own experiences.
• Wendy Pye (she/her) is a visual artist working primarily with photography and video. She completed an MA in Photographic Arts at The London College of Communication – University of the Arts in 2009. Her creative interests are in visual narratives, inspired by real and mythical stories that are connected to the land.
• Chris Sav (he/him) is an artist working predominantly in illustration and performance. He draws weird cartoons that reference folklore and mythology as a lens to highlight the absurdities of everyday life. He’s particularly interested in exploring how humour can help to open up discussions around mental health, as well as providing catharsis.
• River Sweeney (she/her) is a graduate of Goldsmiths University where she studied a BA in Drama and Theatre Arts. In 2020 she completed her master’s degree in Fine Art at the University of Brighton. Her work responds to socio-political themes. She uses video, sound and performance, but is open to experimenting with other mediums to examine current issues and injustices that take place in the African Caribbean diaspora.
• Alice Wisden (she/her) trained at Wimbledon School of Art & graduated in 2008 with a BA in Painting. She creates paintings that depict people in familiar situations defaced by exaggerated masked faces. By juxtaposing characters in a conflicting realm, she aims to portray an unaddressed psychological reaction to mental discomfort. Through imagery, she addresses the rules of framing sanity and indifferent approaches to humanity.

Click here to find out more about the programme and the artists selected for FLOURISH 2