WHAT IS FOURTH WALL FOLKESTONE?
Fourth Wall Folkestone CIC is a creative space focused on all things art and mental health.
Open to all as a non-traditional gallery, open studio, and research space. By holding accessible events, we invite the local community to reimagine the role of art in society as a tool to effect change.
OUR VISION, MISSION & VALUES
VISION
– Fourth Wall is a conduit between our community and the healthcare system.
– Creative processes, and gentle disruptive activism, are used as tools to solve problems and create change.
– People with lived experience are empowered to use their voice to influence systemic change resulting in a person centred approach to healthcare.
MISSION
Our core community is composed of those with lived experience of mental illness, long term health conditions, people who feel underrepresented or othered. We play, make, research, learn and experiment using creative approaches to problem solving. Creativity is reimagined as a tool to research, communicate and effect change, particularly in the healthcare system.
As a highly visible arts hub on the high street we are able to reach additional people who might not ordinarily engage in arts or mental health conversation, but are curious about what’s going on through the window, creating a central point for people to converge. We help redefine what research is, building confidence, experience and skills in creative research, and share how people can be involved. Our work involves an element of gentle, disruptive social activism.
Fourth Wall is a conduit between our community and the healthcare system, well placed within a network of university and healthcare research. We amplify the voices of our community, especially those with lived experience. We aim to explore under-researched, under-funded and under-discussed, stigmatised and taboo subjects, co-produced with those that are impacted by these issues. We share research findings through our partnerships.
VALUES
– Equity
– Accessibility
– Transparency
– Innovation
– Activism
WHAT IS A COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY (CIC)?
A community interest company is a business focussing on social objectives. All profits made go back into the community rather than to the owners.
WHAT IS AN OPEN STUDIO?
An open studio is simply an invitation for others to visit the space that you work in and see your processes, methods, and work in progress.
Through my practice, I’ve learned that there are other ways to be an artist in the world without focusing on commerce and selling artwork as investment.
The work that I do is a form of social activism: engaging with the public to try to contribute to wider society through art.
As I’m fortunate to do this, I want to show people publicly that there are multiple ways to earn a living through being a creative. I do this very literally by opening up my studio.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY INFORMAL GALLERY?
As every human has the capacity for creative thinking, I feel it’s important for everyone to have access to the arts.
Having only formal spaces to share artwork can make it seem elusive and exclusive. It can make people feel scared to engage with art, both looking at it and / or creating it.
I call the space an informal gallery in the hope to take away some of the pressures put on both the audience and the artists and make access to the arts more inclusive.
In my early career I spent a long time feeling very uncomfortable with the pressure to follow a certain etiquette and attend formal events such as private views. This was compounded by my mental illness, making me feel more like an outsider in the world of art.
I’ve been told that if something doesn’t work for you, you should find a way to make it work, and that’s what I’m doing with the space. It’s an experiment to see what the art world could look like and what a gallery could look like in a more informal setting.
I encourage suggestions about how to create the most comfortable, accessible space possible so really “informal Gallery” can mean whatever you want it to mean.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN “RESEARCH SPACE”?
Learning through making and doing. Experimentation: working with different materials and processes to see what different outcomes are possible.
Creative thinking: Problem solving using artistic approaches to imagine new scenarios and solutions.
Creative thinking is a human trait therefore we are all creatives which is why my work invites others into the process and why I believe the art world needs to be more inclusive and accessible.
WHY THE NAME?
I studied theater directing at university. The term used in theatre for the front of the stage is the fourth wall. During a play, the actors pretend that there’s a wall there to keep up the illusion, but the audience can see in. I’m interested in “breaking the fourth wall” meaning that the actors acknowledge the audience and build a stronger relationship with them. By having an almost entirely transparent glass frontage on the high street, I hope to demystify the work of an artist and build a strong relationship with the local community by inviting them in.
THE TEAM
Sarah Lloyd, Founder
Sarah Lloyd (Carpenter) is an artist, researcher and designer with a specialism in public engagement. Her work focuses mainly on the subject of mental health . She has worked in this field for almost 12 years.
Sarah has worked with and continues to work with institutions and organisations who are leaders in this field such as the Bethlem Gallery, Shape Arts, Outside In, Artistic UK, King’s College London (specifically the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience), The Biomedical Research Centre and Maudsley Charity. Over 100 pieces of Sarah’s work can be found in the Wellcome Collection archive, she has had work published with The Psychologist, The British Medical Journal and the Lancet Journal of Psychiatry and was the cover artist for 2018.
Through Fourth Wall Folkestone Sarah seeks to reimagine the art world as a more inclusive and accessible place, where an artist’s role is to inspire and facilitate creative thinking.
www.SarahCarpenterCreative.co.uk
Philippa Wall, Director of Development
Philippa has worked within the creative and cultural sector for 10 years. In this time, securing and managing large bids alongside curating, programming and managing exciting activity for her own organisation, other organisations and international festivals.
Philippa currently works as Social Enterprise Advisor at Social Enterprise Kent and previously as Kent co-ordinator for South East Creatives, an ERDF grants and business support programme across the south east.
Philippa’s creative practice has included exhibiting and artist residencies across the UK. Working across time based media such as sound, performance and film.
Philippa has a particular interest in peer-led activity, audience development and measuring social impact. Philippa also enjoys sea swimming and looking after (too many) house plants.
Lauren Willis, Director’s Assistant
Lauren Willis is co-director of The Beer Shop Folkestone and has been running her own business since 2014.
Previously based in London, she studied Fine Art at Central Saint Martins and then went on to manage the Children & Families’ Outreach Programme at The South London Gallery in Peckham for eight years.
Now based in Folkestone, alongside the day to day running of the The Beer Shop, she organises creative and social events in the space and loves collaborating with other small businesses and creative folk in the area.
www.thebeershopfolkestone.co.uk
Karen Pamplin Browne, Community Researcher
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Karen is an Arts Project Management and Evaluation Consultant supporting the creative and heritage industries.
Karen has spent 30 years working in the art, heritage and education sectors with a current focus on the evaluation of participatory arts projects. She also coaches small businesses and sole traders. She is a qualified teacher with experience in secondary and special needs schools. Karen’s personal interests include creative evaluation, participatory arts, social practice, collecting, photography and curating.
Katie Lambert, Community Researcher
Katie Lambert is a researcher and educator living in Folkestone, Kent. She has a keen interest in the role creativity can play within Early Years development. It is a combination of both her background in working in the Early Years and her work as an artist which has led to her Home Educating her own children. She graduated with a Masters in Education in 2014 and continues to research the ways in which art and creative practice can benefit learning and Childhood. Katies main interest focus is around how creativity can aid cognitive development, as well as this she is interested in alternative methods of learning and creating an inclusive learning environment. Katies personal interests include Taylor Swift and all things sparkly, Star Wars and a comprehensive knowledge of the works of J.R.R Tolkien. She can also make a mean Margarita.
Shazia Ginai, Board Member
Shazia Ginai is a business transformation and growth specialist. With a strong career of almost 20 years in consumer insight, marketing, behavioural science and neuroscience based research, Shazia has driven growth across client and agency businesses. She is creative and curious in her strategic approach and is deeply passionate about people and leadership. Shazia has also championed equity and inclusion across multiple initiatives including her time on the Market research society’s ED&I council, chairing CORe (Colour of research) and as an advisory board member for WIRe (Women in research). Shazia is also a trained breathwork facilitator and yoga teacher, and utilises these techniques alongside her very vocal activism to drive awareness and action for better diagnosis and treatment of women suffering with Endometriosis.
CONNECTING WITH THE LOCAL COMMUNITY…
Because we’re situated on a high street, Fourth Wall Folkestone is perfectly placed to be a community arts hub. We have lots of through traffic so are able to reach people who might not ordinarily engage in arts or mental health, but are curious about what’s going on behind the window.
We are connecting with the local community not only by inviting everyone in and offering talks, events, drop in workshops etc. but also by its involvement with other community events such festivals, open studios, talks, workshops, university, and school projects. Members of the local community are involved in what is happening, are leading their own projects within the space and co-producing activities wherever possible. Fourth Wall Folkestone has connected with and become involved with many other local community groups, so our reach is quite far.
JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
Fourth Wall Folkestone has a mailing list, providing information on any upcoming events, exhibitions and opportunities. You can sign up to that here
I am always happy to chat via email and of course, the space is open 12-4 Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so I do encourage people to pop in, say hi, provide feedback and bring ideas about how you might like to use the space or what you might like to see in the space. The overall aim of Fourth Wall Folkestone is that it is co-produced with the local community.
PARTNERSHIPS / COLLABORATIONS …
