Conservation
for Wellbeing
C4W combines conservation, archives and mental health. As well as practising conservation, participants gained behind-the-scenes knowledge of how heritage collections are protected and cared for at London Metropolitan Archives. This is a completely new way of engaging people who live with mental health problems with heritage and creativity, and it was funded by City Bridge Trust.
Coordinator and conservator Helen Lindsay, LMAs then Head of Conservation Caroline De Stefani and Head of Learning and Engagement Aimee Taylor worked with Tom Exley, art and design tutor at SMART London and a group of participants and volunteers to create 10 engaging sessions. Based in the conservation studio at LMA, sessions moved online during lockdown. Later we ran taster workshops with the Stuart Low Trust in Clerkenwell and we plan to develop this collaboration in future.
C4W is a partnership with London Metropolitan Archives (LMA and the Institute of Conservation (Icon) with research support from University College London (UCL). Wellbeing research by art therapist Daisy Rubinstein was published in Art Psychotherapy and Innovation: New Territories, Techniques and Technologies as Conservation Object Relations Theory.
The website for the project is still online though it is not currently being updated. www.conservationforwellbeing.org
We are planning to run C4W again, so please get in touch with Helen Lindsey if you would like to know more: [email protected]
With thanks to our partners:
“We have to be delicate with the stuff cause you have to wear gloves and everything…it was just really interesting how careful you have to be. it was just really interesting how careful you have to be. You have to treat these things like you would treat a human being basically.”
Fancy supporting projects like these?
All support isn’t expected but hugely appreciated. If you’d like to contribute financially to the work we do, you can do so by getting in touch with us or donating using Queue Gives. Click the box to be walked through the secure system to do that.
