What does a holistic art practice look like?

How do we approach our relationship with the things we do? How does art relate to life? Following the Spring workshop in May, this is now becoming a seasonal series: what if each season asked something different of us — and of our practice? How can art practices become more sustainable? Both in the material sense, and also for the artist, with their health, economy and mindset?

This workshop will look at how the practices and approaches of Ayurveda can be taken into the practices and approaches of art making.

Ayurveda is a system of health care and preventative medicine that developed in India over 5000 years ago. It doesn't offer a fixed prescription. It offers a framework for self-knowledge: how to read your own rhythms, how to work with your nature rather than against it, how to make choices around food, rest, routine and creative energy that are genuinely sustainable over time. For artists, that kind of attentiveness has an immediate parallel in how we approach the work itself.

Hannah McDonald has studied both Fine Art and Yoga/Ayurveda for the past 20 years. She has recently begun exploring how the two can actively inform and shape one another.

Following on from the Spring workshop back in May, we will now focus on Autumn and think about how to work with the season in our day-to-day life and artistic practice. A Winter workshop will follow, continuing this exploration through the year.

The workshop will begin with a 75-minute yoga and breathwork class, followed by a lecture introducing Ayurvedic approaches with practical tips for diet, exercise, routine and yoga practice that are specific to Autumn. Then we'll open into a discussion about how these ideas and tools could inform how we approach our art practices and how we live as artists.

There will be snacks after the yoga class and an Ayurvedic vegan dinner to close the day, with plenty of space for further conversation. The yoga is open to all levels of experience, including complete beginners. Yoga mats and cushions are provided, but feel free to bring your own if you'd prefer and remember to wear something comfortable.

We hope this becomes a rhythm you can return to as the seasons turn — the next gathering will be in Winter.

Donations instead of tickets. We gratefully accept donations for food, art, and beverages. Workshops and study groups are free of charge unless otherwise stated. Read more about our approach here.