turanga neurodiversity week
March 2023
Families raising neurodiverse children have said that they do not always feel welcome at public events. They often feel isolated from society and sometimes unwelcome.
I support the concept of intentional invitations.
Families will attend with their children on equal footing in a community centre and contribute their ideas together on enhancing wellbeing.
A Turanga Public Library event welcomes all and invites families raising neurodiverse children with a range of abilities to join in at my Colour Me Happy exhibition and workshops. The below images are screenshots from events as marketed on the Christchurch City Council website.
Artistic aim
Provide children and youth with disability with a voice and choice of roles and messages for society. As this project expands beyond the walls of the Turanga Public Library, disabled youth and children connect to the wider community. As they become involved, they share their learning and personal action plans, involving the people around them in the steps they decide to take towards their goals. This will include the students' whanau and teachers.
Colour Me Happy workshop with Christchurch City Council staff
Colour Me Happy Workshops
The workshop was constructed to help enable and empower diverse communities to increase their wellbeing through mindful practice. The PERMA evidence-based model (Seligman, 2018) is used throughout this workshop for participants to actively engage in wellbeing practice. Participants use creativity and fun to dig deeper into their personal wellbeing and enhance it.
Activities that participants do include;
Creating space to understand what brings feelings of positivity
Asking the reader to dive into what brings them meaning
Planning goals... and more
More info on the workshops and participants' feedback here.
Please contact me if you are interested in a future workshop.
staff feedback
Thrill and excitement at the breath of creative help and support for each other's dream projects!
Participant feedback
Justice shared her challenge with finishing projects and received help from everyone.
Justice got lots of ideas and help, including an offer to mentor her, from participants. She comments that she learnt about herself and will take her learning to her community and to help future generations coming through.
Colour Me Happy workshops with Turanga families and disabled children wide audience
feedback
What do participants feel and experience during Colour Me Happy workshops?
Calm, mindfulness, focus, joy, childhood memories... and the joy of reconnecting with inner creativity.
Colour Me Happy Turanga installation
Turanga installation
The installation companion to the workshop
Miniatures
Yes, art can make people happy!
48X48 cm
61X61 cm
76X76 cm
61X61 cm
Positive parenting presentation