Voices of Self-Love: What Happens When Women Slow Down and Listen to Themselves

A community art program born from one simple question: when do we actually take the time to know ourselves?

Why this program?

It came from a desire to talk about how we nurture and love ourselves. We go through life being busy; busy working, busy doing, running, supporting others. When do we take the time to slow down and reflect on how much we really know about ourselves?

Because you cannot talk about self-love without going through self-discovery first. Or as it's beautifully put in Spanish: autoconocimiento.

Self-knowledge is a brave, ongoing journey of reflection;exploring emotions, values, strengths, and challenges, revealing both inspiring and uncomfortable truths.

While researching this program, I came across the work of Marina and the team at PsiMammoliti, a collective of therapists with an online repertoire of resources. Through their platform, I found an ebook called El poder del autoconocimiento : "The Power of Knowing Yourself", a collection of exercises designed to help you get to know yourself more deeply. It became a guiding reference for the program.

The question that shaped everything

The central question I kept coming back to was: How can an art program inspire women to connect with themselves and share their stories through various artistic mediums?

The structure of these kinds of programs tends to follow a familiar rhythm: creative writing, abstract painting, clay work. Each medium serves a purpose. Together, they allow for introspection and connection in ways that conversation alone often can't reach.

I was particularly drawn to clay. There is something about working with your hands in that material that is deeply grounding and sensorial. It brings you back into your body in a way that feels immediate and honest.

The summer of 2024

In the summer of 2024, twelve women gathered at a community centre in Vancouver. With the support of La Libélula Coop, the program took shape.

Twelve women. Four community art sessions. Each one building on the last.

We began by grounding ourselves through meditation. We read Wild Geese by Mary Oliver; a poem that gives you permission to return to yourself, to love what you love without apology. It opened something in the room every time.

We painted. We made art. We shared.

And in those four sessions, something quiet but real happened: women remembered themselves.