Joy Martindale (PGCE FE (Art and Design)) is a dedicated artist educator, sharing her knowledge and passion for fine art with students and emerging artists, and through bespoke socially-engaged community art making projects. Her mentoring and teaching are an extension of her practice, fostering a deeper understanding of creative self-expression and artistic process, and the benefits of such expression to mental health and wellbeing. 

Background

Currently, Joy is Head of Art at a prep school in the UK. Joy has also contributed to participatory arts provision in Kent through designing and delivering grant-supported community outreach, artmaking projects working with children, young people and adults. The primary focus in her community projects is on promoting wellbeing and exploring self-expression through creative making.

About The Projects:

Lilacs In Bloom

For her first participatory art making project, in 2018, Joy worked with the charity Migrant Help. A series of collaborative workshops with survivors of modern day slavery and human trafficking led to the creation of the artwork Lilacs In Bloom.

Trailblazers

In 2020, Joy ran Trailblazers, at Walmer Castle working with young people supported by KRAN (Kent Refugee Action Network). This project was supported by National Lottery Heritage Funding and National Lottery Arts Council England Funding and formed part of English Heritage’s Re-Discovering Walmer’s Lost Pleasure Grounds Project.

The Liberating Gesture

In July 2021, Joy concluded an Arts Council England funded research and development project – The Liberating Gesture. The grant funded research into a new participatory artmaking project working with Slovak and Czech Roma women living in Kent, and six months professional development focusing on painting with the support of a Turps Correspondence Course  mentor. The title and focus of the research project was inspired by Etel Adnan’s words: “I love the pleasure of painting and why shouldn’t I be happy… the act of making art is happy. It is a liberating gesture.”

Nice To Meet You/Som Rado Hoij Tumen Spindzardom

In 2022, Joy created and ran community outreach project called Nice To Meet You / Som Rado Hoij Tumen Spindzardom. For this project she worked with Czech and Slovak Roma women living in Dover. The project was carried out in partnership with Turner Contemporary, Samphire and Counterpoints Arts. It was supported by Arts Council England National Lottery Project Funding and a grant from Counterpoints Arts. The project culminated in an exhibition at Turner Contemporary. 

Mother Trees Connect the Forest and Togetherness

In 2023, Joy created and delivered, Mother Trees Connect the Forest, which provided a nurturing opportunity for two community groups, made up of refugee and migrant women and children in Dover and Thanet, to connect and participate in a bespoke creative project (engaging with painting, dance & poetry) over a series of seven workshops. This project led to Togetherness, a follow-up painting for wellbeing project carried out in partnership with Beyond the Page in 2024.

Current

In response to the devastating situation civilians in Gaza, the Occupied Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Israel are facing, Joy co-founded a small grass-roots initiative in Dec 2023, which exists to promote world peace through running local awareness raising events and raising money for charitable causes working to save lives and protect civilians in conflict zones.

Further Information

Interested in working together? Get in touch!