Social Shapla and Creative Health Camden: the slow art of being alongside

We are delighted to welcome the James Wigg Practice and Creative Health Camden to the Sage Practice Network. 

Antonia Attwood, the Artistic Director tells us more:

“Creative Health Camden is based at Kentish Town Health Centre allied to the James Wigg Practice, bringing together art, wellbeing and community under one roof. The programme works with local residents to explore how creativity can support better health and connection, offering workshops, exhibitions and projects that make the health centre feel like a shared community space rather than a clinical one.

As part of Creative Health Camden’s Social Shapla project, a group of Bengali women meet each week. It’s a safe and welcoming space where women can take part in arts activities, meet others, and take time for themselves. Sessions are planned around prayer times and Ramadan, with activities that feel relevant to their culture and faith.

When the group first started the GP practice approached Creative Health Camden as the practice had a high population of Bengali patients, and they were struggling to support them. Some had limited English and often had to bring their children to translate, which made appointments uncomfortable. Many felt mistrust with the healthcare system. Over time, as trust built within the group, the women began to talk more openly about their health and wellbeing, including the menopause, a subject many hadn’t felt comfortable to talk to healthcare professionals about previously.

After around 18 months, the facilitator asked if they would like to invite a female health practitioner to visit. The women agreed, and a medical translator was also brought in to make sure everyone could take part. The session ran an hour and a half over time because there were so many questions. A second session was arranged, and afterwards 40 women signed up to the health centre’s menopause clinic.

The group’s artwork is regularly displayed in the health centre. This helps the women feel more comfortable there and gives them a sense of ownership over the space. For many, it’s also a reminder that they are not only carers or mothers, but creative individuals with something to share.

Each year, the group holds a celebration in the health centre garden, with food, mehndi and families invited. It’s a lively, welcoming event that helps make the health centre feel part of their community a place where everyone belongs.

Find out more about the work we do and our other projects at www.creativehealthcamden.com”

A reflective note from the Sage Practices Team

What shines through this story is the quiet power of creativity to open doors that words alone sometimes cannot. Through making and doing together, a sense of trust and belonging slowly grows. In the Social Shapla group, craft becomes a universal language, allowing expression and discovery to emerge in their own time. What began as a creative gathering gently evolved into a space where health and care could be explored more openly, guided by confidence born of connection. It’s a reminder that relationship-building often asks for patience and presence rather than urgency or outcomes: the slow art of being alongside. 

How might we make more room in our lives and our practices for these kinds of embodied, creative conversations that invite people to show up as whole and resourceful beings?

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