- Artist: Jenny Gaskell
- Producers: Rhyannon Parry, Danny Woods
How to Look After a Grieving Elephant (and other social animals) is a children’s participatory art project about grief, by artist Jenny Gaskell. The aim for this project is to get children and adults talking about grief, how we might care for each other, and of course, to have fun along the way.
Working with children aged 5-10, Jenny is researching how some animals act differently when an animal close to them dies. Over a series of art workshops, games and crafts, our collaborators are learning about some of the ways that animals - including elephants, giraffes, whales and wolves - share their grief, and how we can look after ourselves as humans too.
The thoughts, findings and feelings shared during our workshops will inspire an audio art project. The piece will be shared with the public in St Helens in November 2024.
The project is created by Jenny Gaskell, Heart of Glass and Wonder Arts, with Willowbrook Hospice and Child Bereavement UK. Supported by Arts Council England’s Creative People and Places programme.
Formerly called Citadel Arts, Wonder Arts is a children and families organisation operating exclusively in non-traditional spaces in the public realm.
Providing high quality arts experiences for a-typical children and family audiences who would not otherwise engage with the arts, Wonder Arts are based in St Helens. They began their life as Citadel Arts Centre in 1988 and changed their name in 2022.
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Child Bereavement UK help children, young people, parents, and families to rebuild their lives when a child grieves or when a child dies.