Art By Post: Mary & Simmi’s story
‘Even though Simmi wasn't meeting anybody in person, she felt part of a big family of artists… It kept up a strong sense of the local community in spite of our isolation.’
Born in Uganda, Mary and her daughter Simmi were relocated to Glasgow from London five years ago. Even before Covid-19 hit Mary was always looking for ways to channel Simmi’s creative interests.
Through lockdown they discovered the Glasgow arts centre Platform and the Southbank Centre’s Art by Post project. This is Mary’s story of how this kept her and her daughter going through a potentially isolating lockdown, as told to Mina Holland.
Mary & Simmi, Glasgow
Art by Post participants
‘My daughter, Simmi, is nearly nine and very creative. She’s always wanting to make things and loves using her imagination with drawing, collages, painting and poetry. Even before we had to isolate due to Covid-19, I was looking for ways to apply her interest in art and to occupy her at home. This became more urgent once lockdown hit.
‘That’s when I found out about Platform, the arts centre at the heart of Glasgow’s east end. They were running creative groups and workshops online, and were also working with Southbank Centre on their Art by Post project. Once we found out about this, Simmi became really prolific – there was no stopping her – she made picture after picture to send to them. I realised I had found what I had been looking for to meet my daughter’s needs.
‘She loved not just having a stimulus to respond to but the opportunity to make work that would be noticed. Even though Simmi wasn't meeting anybody in person, she felt part of a big family of artists making work in response to the difficult time we were living through. It kept up a strong sense of the local community in spite of our isolation. Platform put together A5 booklets of the work everybody had produced and shared it with their followers in regular newsletters; a picture of Simmi’s once made the front cover and that had a huge impact on her. Then, when the Art by Post exhibition was on in London during the autumn, a picture of Simmi with some of her artwork was featured on the South Bank; I see how proud all of this has made her, and how much it has lifted her confidence.
‘Even though Simmi wasn't meeting anybody in person, she felt part of a big family of artists… It kept up a strong sense of the local community in spite of our isolation’
‘We live very near to Platform in Baillieston but didn’t know about the centre before the lockdown. Having come to the UK from Uganda, the Home Office moved us to Glasgow five years ago; I was worried about leaving London but learnt quickly that it’s better to raise a family here. The cost of living is lower and the people have been so welcoming to us. Once I got used to the Glaswegian accent, it got easier!
‘Self-isolating with my children was very hard and very hectic. I am a single mother to Simmi, her four year old brother, and a baby boy who I gave birth to during the first lockdown. One of the assignments Platform set was to send in a picture of yourself and your family; Simmi portrayed herself as Mother Mary with her little brother as Joseph and their new brother as Jesus. These things kept me going.
‘Self-isolating with my children was very hard and very hectic. I am a single mother to Simmi, her four year old brother, and a baby boy who I gave birth to during the first lockdown. Simmi’s artwork often kept me going’
‘Simmi’s artwork is very varied in style, but always playful, full of energy and excitement. Matt at Platform noticed that butterflies and nature are favourite motifs in her work. In the photo here, for example, she’s holding up a picture of a purple dinosaur next to a lake and a flower. Often Art by Post’s provocations encouraged people to look at their natural surroundings – like trees and creepy crawlies – and she loved responding to these directly, but at other times she just enjoyed creating whatever she felt like.
‘It was so good to find something that channelled her imagination in those difficult months, and now to have a resource in Platform that we’ll keep using. I am hoping Simmi will join their in-person drama workshops. It is wonderful to have found an outlet for her within our local community – she loves it, and I love it too’.
An exhibition of selected works submitted as part of Art By Post, debuted at the Southbank Centre in September and is now on a UK tour. It is currently at De Montfort Leicester University until 19 February.
Mary was talking to Mina Holland. Deputy editor of Guardian Feast, Holland writes about food, lifestyle and culture and is the author of The Edible Atlas, and Mamma: Reflections on the Food That Makes Us.
Platform is an Art by Post delivery partner.
