Exploring encouragement, belonging and human worth.
The Place
Developed with The Light College, local residents, and Holy Trinity Blacon.
Beginning with Attention
Through conversations with participants, we became aware of how often people spoke about encouragement, relationships and the need to feel valued, and the specific language they used.
I became interested in whether an artwork could create an experience of affirmation rather than simply represent the idea.
Making
We explored different possibilities, including a film and a street mural. Through discussion and making, the installation gradually emerged as the form that felt most appropriate.
The wooden tiles became small physical voices of encouragement, carrying messages gathered from the community and inviting people to encounter them as they walked through the space.
What Emerged
The Walk of Affirmation became both an artwork and an experience: a space where people could encounter words of encouragement and feel, even briefly, seen, valued and affirmed.
Moments of Capture
Walk of Affirmation installation • Community participation • Public exhibition
The tiles carried messages such as “I am enough”, “Well done!”, “You’re amazing” and “Thanks for being you”.
What I’m Taking from This Place
This residency left me thinking about how simple acts of encouragement can create connection and belonging.
The work reminded me that there are values and needs that resonate deeply across communities: acceptance, inclusion, encouragement and the permission to be ourselves.
The Conversation Continues
Although the residency had a defined timeframe, the Walk of Affirmation continued beyond it. It was subsequently installed at St Peter’s at the Cross in central Chester and a smaller version was created for the Greenbelt Arts Festival.
The idea remains open to further resurrection in another place, in another form.