Project Gallery
Wreaths of Resilience
A globally recognized mental reframing technique for children with cancer that combines henna crowns with mind-body practices.
BrainSPACE’s workshop Wreaths of Resilience, conceived and conducted by Fatin Khalil is delivered in partnership with Kolachi Mehndi Henna Healing Arts at Karachi’s Indus Hospital and Health Network. The group workshop uses evidence backed mind-body practices such as breath-work, cognitive reframing, hope enhancement, and emotional support to share positive coping strategies. It culminates with the creative and symbolic application of intricate henna designs in the shape of wreaths, recognizing the brave young warrior’s fighting spirit.
Wreaths of Resilience has been featured in The Lancet Global Series for the Health Benefits of the Arts 2025, a landmark research initiative led by the Jameel Arts & Health Lab in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO).
BrainSPACE conducted Pakistan’s first Arts & Health Week under the banner of Global South Arts & Health in partnership with Habib University. This initiative engaged over 25 organizations and reached diverse populations, including differently-abled individuals, at-risk youth, children with cancer, individuals with Down syndrome, older adults, marginalized women, and refugees. This work demonstrated the strong potential for integrating creative practices within healthcare and educational ecosystems, laying groundwork for the emerging field of Creative Health in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s First Arts & Health Week
Trash to Treasure
A summer camp to share about sustainable futures and how the environment and our state of mind impacts health and well-being.
Activation Partners
BrainSPACE, Department of Textile Design Indus Valley School of Art & Architecture, Adcom Pvt Ltd, Al Furqan Welfare School
Year
July 2024
BrainSPACE conducted Trash to Treasure- a summer camp for students at Al Furqan Welfare School to learn about sustainable futures to help bolster the effects of chronic stress and equip with skills required to create and sell upcycled products made from clean waste.
The summer camp concept, design and coordination was led by Fatin Khalil in collaboration with the Department of Textile Design at Indus Valley School and Adcom Pvt Ltd.
Various techniques such as guided creative visualization, mindful breath-work and hope enhancement strategies were used to support awareness about littering, pollution, global warming, and climate change and how it impacts personal and universal health and well-being. Students were encouraged to become a part of the solution by sharing mental exercises to help tap into innate creativity and leverage it through skill-based arts training which can empower them to work towards their socio-economic uplift, creating opportunities for them to flourish and thrive.
The result was creative and fun products like jewellery and coasters as well as learning ways to market and sell the products!
Students from the Textile Department at Indus Valley School of Art & Architecture shared the crafting skills required to create upcycled products. The dynamic team from Adcom Pvt Ltd. shared their media expertise through skills required for marketing and selling such as storytelling, photography, and film.
Through these initial projects based on arts and health practice (AHA!), opportunities are created for collaboration between artists, scientists, clinicians and educators to address health, health education and health-related outcomes through non-clinical arts initiatives and creative interventions where the key goal is the experience or production of various arts.
This multidisciplinary approach includes diverse art forms such as visual and cultural art-making, storytelling, writing, theater, music, movement-based expression, photography, experience design etc.
These multimodal interventions that weave research from positive psychology and neuroscience on positive emotions and arts engagement incorporate different approaches to individual and collective well-being which can be customized depending on context, such as:
• Arts participation
• Receptive art engagement
• Public art in health spaces.
See some examples of AHA! projects above.
If you or someone you know is interested in getting involved, please reach out. Let’s spark collaboration and create impact!
Pankh— Wings to Soar
Empowerment + Socio-Economic Uplift through Art & Craft
• Trash upcycling program into sustainable craft products in collaboration with schools in underserved areas
• Henna Art Training Intensive for women empowerment and financial independence