Letters to Forever: Using Art to Express and Share Grief [Online panel]

About the event

Why do we turn to creativity when we are bereaved? And how can art help us connect to the people we have lost and express how we feel?

In a panel discussion for everyone interested in the relationship between grief and creativity, we are delighted to welcome two visual artists and a poet to explore these questions. Natalia Millman is a Ukrainian-born British artist who often uses organic found materials in her work, giving new life to what seemed lost. Her exhibition Vanishing Point raised awareness about dementia and grief, and her latest project, Letters to Forever, turns 200 personal letters about loss into visual art installation, sound, scent, video pieces, and performance. Natalia will be joined by Helen Acklam, who uses a variety of different techniques and her own body to reflect on her personal experiences of grief and loss. Her project what it is to be there uses soil from her daughter’s gravesite to explore the complex emotions of teenage pregnancy and baby loss, helping her to connect to her daughter Gail.

The panel will be facilitated by Carrie Etter, who has written several acclaimed poetry collections about grief and loss. Together, they will discuss what it means to make art from pain and love – and how sharing what we’ve made can allow us to see and be seen in new ways.