For mother-and-daughter duo Dolores and Rebecca, Art in Mind is a welcome opportunity to rediscover a shared passion for the arts and reminisce about the past.

Former textile designer Dolores has always loved the arts. At a young age, her father, a sculptor and craftsman, gifted his daughter a weaving loom. She instantly fell in love with it and went on to study at the Camberwell School of Art before securing herself a job as a fabric designer for the John Lewis Partnership.

Dolores worked as a designer and draughtswoman right up until she had her children. Despite her love for art and especially weaving, she didn’t revisit her talent for many years – until her daughter Rebecca stumbled across an advertisement for Art in Mind on a visit to the local library.

The pair had been regular visitors of The Lightbox already, exploring various exhibitions, including one of Dolores’ favourite artists, J.M.W. Turner. Familiar with the environment, Dolores and Rebecca have now been attending Art in Mind every month since 2018.

“Mum is accustomed to a studio environment from her working days, so the atmosphere here is just different,” says Rebecca. “We couldn’t find anything else like Art in Mind anywhere. Choices are very limited. You want to be surrounded by people who know and understand what you’re going through, so it’s just incredible to have this right on our doorstep.”

Looking through the artwork that they have created together in previous sessions, Dolores and Rebecca playfully criticise their artistic abilities. However, “The artist running the session will always steer us in the right direction,” Rebecca says, “especially if we’re struggling to pick out something we like about what we’ve made.”

Rebecca speaks fondly of Art in Mind as it’s something the two of them can do together, and it’s a great way to get her mother back into drawing and doing what she loves. Of the session, Dolores says, “It’s just incredible. To come back to art after all this time – it’s incredible.”

Your Membership, ticket purchases and donations help to fund our Art and Wellbeing programme, which includes Art in Mind, so families including Dolores and Rebecca can continue to enjoy a rediscovered passion for the arts and play an active part in society.