Remembering, Reflecting and Moving Forward…

Remembering Together Renfrewshire are excited to be moving forward with phase two of the project, creating the Covid Community Memorials.

From October 2022 to March 2023, Lead Artist Philippa Tomlin and collaborating community artists Karen Herbison and Craig McCulloch reached out to local Renfrewshire community with creative sessions and conversation about what a Covid memorial means to our community.

In sessions the project created mandalas together as the creative approach, gently opening up conversation about the impacts of the pandemic that for many could be challenging. The mandala technique was a useful exercise for meditative work in an non-intrusive and explorative way; on the back of each mandala participants noted down key points that came out of the conversations and creative work.

The team’s line of questioning focused on what the community would like to remember, like to forget and ideas for what Renfrewshire may want and need as a memorial to Covid and lockdown. There was plenty of time for personal stories and reflections.

In Phase 2 Renfrewshire are delighted to be working with project partners Erskine Arts, and welcomed Project Manager Sara Marshall to the team.

“I’m really excited to be part of Remembering Together: Renfrewshire. I grew up and still live in Renfrewshire, so it’s a real joy for me to be part of such a really meaningful community led project in my local area. The artistic work and engagement from phase 1 from the team has been really thoughtful, creative and insightful and I am so looking forward to being a part of bringing this to fruition!”

You can read more about the findings of phase 1 in our project report HERE.