Creative Connections art project gets underway at Thorn Road Clinic

Earlier this year we were delighted to learn that we had been successful in a grant application to support service users, patients and staff through a series of art sessions. The first Creative Connections art project in collaboration with Culture ’26 and Halton Children's and Young People's Mental Health Service (CYPMHS) got underway last week, and the first sessions, delivered some wonderful feedback. 

The community art project will take place over the next six months and engage staff and service users within Thorn Road Clinic and the Brooker Centre through artist‑led workshops that support wellbeing, self‑expression, and creativity. The project will culminate in a shared local, public exhibition celebrating participants’ artwork.

Creative Connections - project one

• Art Activity: Soundwalk around the local environment
• Artist: Sara Wolff -  composer, musician, and sound artist

Staff took part in the first slow-paced walk around the Thorn Road Clinic, focusing on listening closely to the surrounding environment. The walk encouraged participants to tune into everyday sounds and reflect on how listening can influence our connection to place and to one another. Speaking about her first soundwalk with people who work together in a busy professional setting, Sara reflected on how valuable it can be to carve out time within the working day to pause, reconnect, and share an experience as a group.

“Sound walking is a way to connect with the places around you through listening, by tuning in to the different sounds around us. For me, it’s a way to connect with other people, slowing down and taking time to simply ‘be,’ together. It promotes curiosity and compassion for the environments around us -  letting us appreciate the small things we might not usually notice in everyday life.”

The route took staff through the streets beyond the clinic, past a parade of shops where vehicle noises were dominant and the sounds of people conversing and going about their day -- to the more peaceful sounds of Runcorn Town Hall Park where the group took its final pause to connect with their environment and create artwork (if they wanted to) based on their experience. 

The hour-long walk received positive feedback from staff, who said they found the sessions beneficial  and a moment to pause from their busy schedules. One staff member shared:

“I found the experience very relaxing, engaging, and really enjoyable. Thank you again for an amazing experience within the workplace. I will use active listening again and aim to practise this both in and out of work.”

Led by Art Psychotherapist Nicola Hamlin, the project invites a wide range of artists and art forms to create meaningful experiences for staff and patients.

“Halton’s Creative Connections project got off to a lovely start with a mindful, slow paced sound walk led by the talented musician and sound artist Sara Wolff here at Thorn Road Clinic ," she said. "Staff and patients spent time outdoors tuning into the sounds around them, responding creatively through mark-making, note taking and drawing, and concluded sharing reflections together. There was lots of enthusiasm for connecting creatively and slowing down the pace, with many people asking about joining Sara’s sound walks in the community. I’m so excited to keep this project growing and to bring a variety of different artists into Thorn Road to share their creativity with the local community."

To learn more about Culture 26 and the celebrations around Halton over the next 12 months you can read more: Culture 26: Celebrating Halton-Made Creativity

You can learn more about Sara Wolff and her community soundwalks via her Instagram page: @sound_pals and @Saraw0lff