Gather + Ground

A creative wellbeing collective

Facilitation, web design & creative collaboration

Date: 2022 - present (although currently on pause)

Website platform: Squarespace

Project overview: Gather + Ground was a creative collective set up in equal partnership by myself and artists Ali Brown & Kerry Russell. We ran workshops & co-working spaces both online and in-person for creatives and creative business owners. Our aim was to support others to move through creative blocks and procrastination, to make time for both their own creativity and their creative businesses in a way that also cared for their own wellbeing.

My role: Collective decision making as a co-founder, co-facilitator in online spaces and workshops, website designer & digital solutions leader.

Links: The website is currently paused, but you can view Gather + Ground’s Instagram archive here.

What I did

I am one of three co-founders of Gather + Ground, and a partner in the decision-making at every level. Ali, Kerry & I developed Gather + Ground together in its entirety — from concept through to organisation, planning and delivery — and so everything we created and carried out was an achievement of equals.

We held a series of communal spaces, co-working sessions and creative workshops, both online and in-person. We shared facilitation responsibilities, each taking turns as in lead and supporting roles. We also all contributed to the admin, communications and marketing work required to run the collective.

My main personal contributions to the ongoing running of Gather + Ground were co-facilitation of online spaces & workshops, the design and maintenance of the website, and management of digital solutions and email marketing.

I designed and ran many grounding exercises, meditations and creative warm-ups which were used at the start of our online co-creating sessions, and I hosted several co-working spaces dedicated specifically to supporting creatives with their business websites.

Gather + Ground is currently on pause.

Highlights

Co-design and co-founding of overall project
Design and maintenance of the project website on Squarespace
Co-creation & co-facilitation of 8x Creative Resets: free 15 minute sessions on Instagram providing a creative wellbeing activity walk-through
Co-creation & co-facilitation of 17x Unstoppable Art Club & Studio Sessions: 1.5 hour supported creative workshops & co-working sessions on Zoom. These included a grounding exercise, a warm-up to tackle creative blocks & barriers, time for participants to work/create, and a sharing space at the end.
Digital management of all events, online & in-person
Communications lead for newsletter