Drawing Our Future was made during my residency at the Watts Gallery in 2021. I worked with five different community groups to explore the Art & Action exhibition. As this was lockdown the whole project was delivered remotely by zoom and through the post.

I based the workshops around the idea that in this moment: in the midst of a global pandemic, on the brink of climate catastrophe and with new waves of fascism risking all around us, we need art not just to reflect these realities but to help us envision what could happen next, because we cannot build a better future without first imagining it.

Each workshop invited participants to discuss the paintings, share ideas and explore the themes of the exhibition through the lens of their own experiences. Participants were prompted to give voices to the silent subjects of these paintings and to imagine radically hopeful futures that we could all inhabit.

With thanks to the Woking Women’s Support Centre, Halow, HMP YOI Bronzefield, Surrey County Council - User Voice and Participation and Watt Gallery Trust’s Family Programme.