WAAS – The Milky Way
Sarah Dixon, @arachnez, is a socially engaged artist based in Stroud. The term artist encompasses such a wide range of talents, interests and work. She paints, creates participatory experiences and runs workshops for expectant and new mums. This list is not exhaustive!
Sharon Bennett, @sharonbennettartist, is a socially engaged artist based in Stroud. Often working with community groups, artists or family and friends she blurs the boundaries between the traditional positions of artist, artwork and audience.
Sarah & Sharon are founding members of WAAS, Women’s Activation System’. In August 2021, The WAAS were commissioned by an AHRC funded consortium of Manchester Metropolitan University, Social Art Network and Axis for Social Art for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (SAFEDI). Together they explored the National Gallery in London, with participants including women in pregnancy, a grandmother, a doula and women with new babies. They then devised a game-activity for National Gallery visitors to play – with a board, stickers and a map of the paintings featuring breastfeeding around the Gallery. As participants find the paintings, they place a sticker on the board.
I joined them in London to document the game being played. These images will be used for website and social media content as well as future funding applications. This strong visual record of the game being played really show’s off all the incredible hard work involved. When combined with participants comments about their experiences the photographs give depth and colour to the artists story.
