‘Somewhere between right and wrong there is a garden. I’ll meet you there’
The seeds of Space for Wellbeing were sown during lead artist Kate MacKay’s Findhorn Bay Arts Combine to Create Residency. During this residency, Kate’s reflective practices including writing, nature and observation were able to meet her professional engagement practices of making, storytelling and connection.
Supported by Creative Scotland’s Participatory Arts and Mental Health Fund, we continued to work with Kate to reimagine our everyday spaces to enhance wellbeing for everyone, whilst removing barriers for the most vulnerable.
Kate worked with neurodivergent textile artist and designer Jen Cantwell, autistic sound artist Dave Martin, garden designer Eva Zandman, autistic multi-disciplinary artist Iona Zawinski and neurodivergent young volunteer photographer Nina Martindale. During the 2024 Festival, these creative explorations culminated in the transformation of Forres House
Community Centre into an indoor oasis – a tranquil and inviting public space designed to reflect the project’s ethos.
Through a series of creative workshops and research sessions, the project focused on elements such as light, colour, plants and sound. The sessions aimed to foster positive mental health while exploring the sensory needs of participants.
As part of the research sessions, participants were invited to share personal experiences related to inclusion, creativity, the environment and safety. During the creative workshops, the artists worked collaboratively to reflect on the space and used a variety of locally sourced, natural and low-cost materials to generate ideas for a supportive, sensory-focused environment.
Why are modifications placed on neurodivergent people, rather than environments?
The Equalities Act (2010) states that ‘reasonable adjustments should be made to the space to improve accessibility.
By combining elements from the natural world, sound installation, acoustic sound clouds, photography and film, participants and artists co-created a new installation and sensory space: Space for Wellbeing at Forres House Community Centre as part of the 2024 Findhorn Bay Festival.
Space for Wellbeing attracted over 300 visitors. Feedback from visitors highlighted multiple benefits, including the value of the space for individuals with sensory sensitivities; the sense of calm and relaxation fostered by the installation; and the importance of incorporating elements of nature into indoor environments to build greater connections with the natural world.
Through the exhibition, we discovered an overwhelming desire from visitors for Spaces for Wellbeing to be a permanent feature in schools, workplaces and public venues. People engaged in the space with playfulness, reverence and everything in between.
Community centre staff commented on how behaviour changed in the space even when the exhibition was closed. One receptionist described chuckling at the heartwarming sight of the CCTV of a worn-out dad, reclining on the bean bags while his toddlers ran in circles in a gap
between classes. The environment invited people to disarm, shed a layer and reveal more of their essential humanity. In this way, it helped ease tension, welcoming connection as well as creating space for wellbeing.
Visitor comments included:
“What a transformation of what is usually a dreary space. It adds soul to the building. The use of music, colour and plants unify the space. Love the pebble cushions, they look like they belong here”
“…it’s interesting watching people’s reactions. They stop, relax, enjoy, and engage with the elements. They grow calm. Pause from a busy day”
“The headphones/soundscape really help – allowing me to go within my own private little bubble to take in the beauty”
“The sounds through the headphones are a gateway to another way of being, to seeing the world differently’”
“I visited once during the day but find my nightly visits and the change of lighting a gift! Clouds over fluorescents any day”
“lovely combination of green, nature, sound and art”
A Port in the Storm
“We need places like this to make space and calmness in our heads. Life moves very fast now; even when we sit and rest, we use our phones; there is no time for us to rest our brains and collect our thoughts’ Visitor
“Calm… my worries have gone away”
Read Kate’s Space for Wellbeing, Inspiring Environments for Access and Inclusion publication.
