HGMC April 2026: Art Against Anxiety  

First off, I’d like to extend huge thank you to Jason, who was our facilitator and resident artist for the evening. We have worked with Jason, before and found his approach and demeanour perfectly in line with our own values. He has a calm, approachable and warm aura to him which makes him very easy to talk to. This evening we were once again at The Box Moor Trust, which is beginning to feel like a second home to us. We had a fully booked session which is always nice, and a mix of new attendees and regulars. 

Once we had gathered everybody up and boiled the kettle enough times to get a tea or coffee in every hand, it was time to begin. We held a brief check in as is tradition for us at HGMC, then handed over to Jason. He was sure to stress that the goal of this evening was not to learn a specific artistic skill, but to use the process of putting pen to paper to get out of our own heads. He led us through a couple of loosely guided exercises and encouraged us to talk as we did so. Before long, conversation was flowing freely and it was clear that the artistic process was eroding boundaries in real time. People who had never talked to each other before were listening and talking like old friends, and just like a couple of hours had passed. Jason wound up the last exercise and handed the reigns back to us.  

As always, we talked as a group about gratitude and things we will be doing for our own well being in the short term. The aim of these groups is to try and have everybody leave feeling lighter than when they came in. Tonight, we definitely achieved that. The group all mentioned in their own words how fast the time had gone by, and how much they enjoyed the process of drawing as a way to calm their minds. The evening was a resounding success and something we will absolutely do again another day.