Save the date! Join us for our in person artist peer group at London's Southbank Centre - a chance to hear from, support, and meet other artists in creative health.
Our artist peer groups are an opportunity for artists exploring health and wellbeing in their practice to gain feedback and support on their projects, ideas or challenges that they are facing. The space is for active feedback, meaning that artists aren’t sharing finished works, but asking for specific support from others attending the session. Together we pool resources and provide feedback in a supportive environment. There’s time at the event to meet others working at the intersection of arts and health, and connect, too.
Click here to read more about how the groups work.
Our presenting artists for this session are leon clowes and Brooke Leigh. Read on for more about their creative practices and what they are looking for support with.
Want to share your work at a future group? Fill out our application form.
Image: leon clowes
About leon clowes.
leon clowes (b.1970) is a neurodivergent, gay, working-class artist using sonics and stories for social inquiry. Rooted in addiction recovery and grief-informed practice, he works with archival material and autoethnography to explore absence, taboo, and memory. Recent projects include The Alcoholic’s Tarot (BBC Radio 4, SUPERNORMAL) and Empirical Evidence of the Existence of Angels (Naviar Records, 2025). He’s presented work across the UK and internationally, and is co-founder of the Addiction Recovery Arts Network. A Churchill Fellow and PhD graduate from London College of Music, leon is editor of Performing Recovery magazine and creates both solo and collaborative work.
leon will be sharing Absent Fathers, a new socially engaged installation he's developing at The Crypt Gallery using his late mother’s diaries and his teenage journals to explore paternal absence, grief, and memory. The work invites public contributions – stories, drawings, and songs – that respond to the theme. leon wants feedback on how to structure this kind of participation in a way that feels emotionally safe and non-extractive. He's also interested in how sound or music might support quiet, reflective engagement, and how others have created space for vulnerability in public-facing projects.
Find out more about leon:
Images: Brooke Leigh
About Brooke Leigh.
Brooke Leigh is a multidisciplinary artist based in South-East London. Leigh holds a Master of Fine Arts from Sydney College of the Arts for her research project and thesis, Drawn-Out: trace and catharsis, which explored how emotional and psychological states—such as anxiety—can be externalised through the body. Her work has been exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art (AU), Canberra Contemporary Art Space (AU), Venice International Performance Art Week (IT), The Crypt Gallery (UK), Lewisham Arthouse (UK), and Croxhapox (BE). Her research has been published in Drawing: Research, Theory, Practice (Intellect) and PAJ: Performance Art Journal (MIT Press).
“I’ll be sharing recent work and some questions arising in my practice: Is it enough to present emotionally heavy work as it is, or is there a responsibility to offer care or resolution? Do my photography and performance works extend my main practice, or sit outside it? Would sharing my lived experience of mental health offer meaningful context, validation and connection for others, or would it distract from the work? These questions sit alongside a continued focus on the performative aspect of drawing as a cathartic experience—where the release of internalised emotion becomes a catalyst for understanding and acceptance.”
Find out more about Brooke:
More info about this event.
No creative experience is necessary - just a sense of curiosity and willingness to be supportive to our presenting artists.
Everyone is welcome at this event, regardless of whether you’re an artist, healthcare professional, or general member of the public.
The event takes place within Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall. We’ll email you a few days before with the specific room and a map. You may want to arrive a little early if you’re unfamiliar with the building.
Refreshments (soft drinks / water) are provided. There is a bar if you want to get something specific.
Note on Self Care: The nature of our organisation means that we platform and support the voices of artists that are exploring personal experiences (their own or others) that can sometimes focus on complex issues including health, disability, race, the body, marginalisation, mental/physical health and more. We always encourage you to consider how to self-resource what you need before, during and after engaging with our activities. You can access a list of support resources here.
You’ll need to be aged 16+ to attend.
Questions etc.
If you're not sure if this event is for you or if you have any questions, including about accessibility, please contact info@artsandhealthhub.org.
Cost.
Free / Suggested Donation £5