Project that helps ‘trapped women’ in East End make U-turn is screened at Rich Mix

Making U-turns... how women turn their lives around through creativer film-making in London's East End (Image: Create charity)

The Creative U-Turn project run by the Create charity gives women opportunities to make self-determining changes in their lives.

It has just completed a series of music workshops to help nurture collective support and encourage local networking, including putting together an animated film which is being screened at Bethnal Green’s Rich Mix arts centre.

“The project creates an environment in which vulnerable women can feel safe in sharing their experiences,” Create’s co-founder Nicky Goulder explains. “It offers an effective way to channel emotions and feelings that can be difficult to speak about, by creating support networks for those who have shared similar challenges in life.”

The women have been working with professional playwrights, film-makers and musicians for the past nine months where they can expand their social group, develop their ambitions, believe in themselves a bit more and increase their self-confidence.

The film the women have put together inter-cuts with live performances of the music created in the workshops to accompany the short animation.

The project has been funded by City international law law-firm Reed Smith in Moorgate, whose business coordinator Carole Mehigan said: “The women have used their past experiences in positive ways. I am amazed at the progress they’ve made, having worked with them for almost six years.”

Growing numbers of women’s refuges have closed or been forced to reduce capacity, due to government funding cuts, the charity points out. So Create’s U-Turn project provides these vulnerable women with opportunities to develop their own support networks in their community and build self-confidence to make life changes.

The film is screened free, at the Rich Mix arts venue in Bethnal Green Road, tomorrow at 1.30pm.