Working with Berwick Church to support their successful National Lottery Heritage Fund application.

Located in the South Downs National Park, the ancient Church in Berwick hosts an interior of modern murals painted by members of the Bloomsbury Group, including Duncan Grant, Quentin Bell and Vanessa Bell.

Originally commissioned during World War II, by 2018, the murals needed conservation. As part of the appeal for National Lottery Heritage Fund support, a lasting socially-engaged public programme was required.

The Berwick Church team and I held town hall meetings where residents could voice their ambitions and discuss ideas. Based on this feedback and my own research, I organised meetings with charities and community groups from Sussex that touched on connections with the Church's heritage.

We drew on the Church's tranquil location in the natural landscape, as well as its role as a touchstone for peace and respite when the Bloomsbury artists used painting to manage their wartime trauma.

The public programme reflected this as I established relationships with Towner Art Gallery, Charleston House, Arts in Mind, Blind Veterans UK and Brighton Oasis Project.

The programme also engaged with Cruse Bereavement, SOBBS, a charity supporting survivors of bereavement by suicide, St Wilfred’s Hospice, and You Raise Me Up, a charity supporting families after the loss of a child.

Berwick Church now hosts an award-winning public programme that continues to engage with schools, artists and the local community through activities, events and artistic commissions.