Reflections from Soft Ground: Textiles and Self-Soothing
While we prepare the next phase of our community engagement programme, Soft Ground, we’re looking back at the workshops held at SET Social Peckham between February and September 2026.
Soft Ground is a series of free, artist-led textile workshops exploring how creativity, routine and collective making can support mental wellbeing. Drawing on neurodivergent practices and trauma-informed approaches, the programme offers a welcoming space for people with different sensory experiences and relationships to making. Through working with textiles and other tactile materials, participants are invited to slow down, experiment and connect with others at their own pace, with socialising always optional.
Led by artists Kim Chin, Birungi Kawooya, Sue Mayo and Jenny McIlhatton, each workshop introduced different materials and approaches to making, from stitching and weaving to plaiting and collage. Many of the materials were recycled from fashion waste or previous projects, offering opportunities to explore different textures, colours and processes.
Throughout the programme, the workshops brought together people of different ages and backgrounds, with participants travelling from across London to take part. The sessions created space for both conversation and quiet concentration, allowing people to participate in ways that felt comfortable to them.
Reflecting on the programme, Sylvia Keck, Looking Forward’s Community Engagement Curator, who curated Soft Ground, describes the atmosphere as one of its most meaningful outcomes:
“Many praised how rare and healing it was to have access to free art activities delivered by professional, and particularly female, artists in London. The artists brought diverse materials, often sourced from recycled fashion waste or previous projects, and participants enjoyed exploring the different textures and colours on the table. Alongside the materials and repetitive nature of stitching, we used soothing music to create a calm environment where socialising was optional rather than expected.”
As the programme developed, this atmosphere took on different forms. Some sessions became quieter, with participants concentrating on their work as music played in the background. Feedback reflected this, with many describing a sense of calm after the sessions. These experiences highlighted how collective making can create space for rest, focus and simply being present.
The programme also demonstrated the importance of consistency and attentive facilitation. With a different artist leading each month, Sylvia’s ongoing presence helped build familiarity with participants and support a space that could respond to different needs. Each artist brought their own experiences, materials and approaches, attracting people with different interests and backgrounds. Alongside social media, outreach through local GP surgeries and libraries helped extend the programme’s reach, contributing to an intergenerational group and making the workshops accessible to people who might not otherwise encounter these opportunities.
As Sylvia reflects, “The programme succeeded not simply because people made textiles, but because it created an environment where participation could take many forms: talking, listening, concentrating, meeting new people, or simply being present.”
We are grateful to Sylvia Keck for organising the programme, to Kim Chin, Birungi Kawooya, Sue Mayo and Jenny McIlhatton for facilitating the workshops, and to everyone who took part. Thank you also to SET Social Peckham for hosting the sessions.
As we look towards the next phase of Soft Ground, we carry forward the value of creating free, welcoming spaces for collective making, where people can gather, explore materials and find their own ways of participating.
Soft Ground is realised in partnership with SET and supported by the National Lottery Community Fund.
