Glencree Welcomes Refugees Project host group well-being sessions using Capacitar Multicultural Trauma Healing at a recent gathering in Glencree.
9/2/23: The Glencree Centre for Peace & Reconciliation (Glencree) works to prevent and transform political and inter-communal conflict and build peaceful, inclusive societies. Glencree’s Intercultural and Refugee Programme has been liaising with the South Dublin County Partnership for over 6 years in its wellness work with women from refugee backgrounds living in Clondalkin. The Glencree Centre also engages with Ukrainian and refugees from other countries who are living in Tallaght, and more broadly across south Dublin and Co. Wicklow.
The Glencree Centre’s Glencree Welcomes Refugees Project provides group well-being sessions for refugees and the professionals who work with them, using Capacitar Multicultural Trauma Healing self-care practices and Laban Dance. Glencree’s experience is that these movement practices provide immediate benefits to participants and support their well-being and integration within local communities. Facilitator Patty Abozaglo said: “Participants find the sessions very useful to reduce levels of stress and became more aware of their own bodies and stress carried in different body parts. The sessions help them to be more connected, to feel peaceful, calm and positive.”
Rua Red is a multidisciplinary art centre located in the heart of Tallaght, that commissions and produces work relevant to the people who live in South Dublin County. Rua Red’s work initiates discussion around social political issues that impact locally, nationally, and internationally. Along with the Glencree Centre, Rua Red are acutely conscious of the newly arrived communities who are experiencing loss, trauma, displacement, and crisis due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The Glencree Welcomes Refugees Project and Rua Red have agreed to work with the Belfast-based creative Array Collective to engage with the local refugee community in a series of facilitated dialogues, creative workshops, and well-being sessions; ensuring that individual voices are heard and valued.
The Array Collective is a group of individual artists, who create collaborative actions in response to socio-political issues. The Array Collective, who won the esteemed Turner Prize in 2021, are a group of 11 artists who create collaborative actions in response to socio-political issues. They work aims to inspire social change through art and working collaboratively with local communities.
Feedback from Glencree’s participants in previous well-being workshops, both refugees, and professionals working with refugees, has been very positive. One participant found it difficult to disconnect from her thoughts, but at the end of the session she felt “more grounded, and her mind was quieter.” Another participant stated: “When I arrived, I had a headache, I felt heavy. Now my headache is gone. I feel better, and more relaxed.” Another participant said following the session that they were now: “Feeling good! I had fun, positive energy. I want more!”
Together the artists and facilitators will work with Ukrainian families, who are living in nearby hotels, in an open-ended, creative process with the aim to support them and their well-being.
This project is supported by South Dublin County Council Arts Office.
ENDS
If you require further information, contact:
GLENCREE CENTRE MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Ringrose Fitzsimons | M: +353 (0)86 3771020 | Valerie.fitzsimons@glencree.ie
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