2022 October Mental Health Month
Yarn Wrapping: Arts for Wellbeing and Harmony
collaboration with Cumberland Council
What is Yarn Wrapping?
Yarn Wrapping or Yarn Bombing is a technique that combines arts, creativity and the craft of knitting, usually done on trees. As a technique, it is done in the public domain, like in parks. It is a playful way to promote vibrancy, colour and exuberance in the community.
Our Installation Story
The metaphor of Yarning: Each colour thread represents the myriad community members, and the wrapping symbolises each member's integral part in the community fabric. Its interwovenness signifies the rich diversity it brings to the community. The lippen art is our ode to India's cultural folk art and heritage.
PROJECT DETAILS
Purpose of the Art Installation: October - Raising Mental Health Awareness and celebrating Culture (as October is Mental Health Month & Diwali). This public art installation showcases India's rich cultural folk art practices and engages with the community using the arts.
The local Cumberland area is densely populated with people with South Asian Backgrounds. October is a festive month and also marks "Mental Health Month". There is a massive stigma within South Asian Communities when discussing Mental Health. On the other hand, it is also a culture heavily influenced by rich art practices. The public art installation was a way to start a visual dialogue and a message of using "Arts for well-being" and also celebrating the diversity and vibrancy South Asian Culture has to offer.
Mindkshetra is a creative wellness studio with a social enterprise business model working towards an SDG goal of Good Health. Culturally Creative Me is a program that partners with local cultural artists and invites them to teach their respective cultural arts to young people in the community. As part of this program, the participants were taught the cultural art and educated on the cultural significance of the art and the people who practice it.
Rupa, the founder of Mindkshetra and Shraddha Gupte, an Indian Folk Artist who also lives in the Cumberland community, partnered with the Cumberland council for this project. The public art installation was Mindkshetra's way of giving back to the community and raising awareness about "Arts & Cultural influence on Mental Well-being".
