The Living Poetry Project
In collaboration with UNSW for Sextember
About the project
The Living Poetry project was born with the intention to allow life to inspire art that in turn will inspire personal and social evolution. Love, sex and relationships are at the heart of our human experience, yet so often we find it hard to put words to our experiences, let alone navigate them with peace and power. In today’s complex relational matrix, it’s more important than ever that we become more conscious, honest and intentional with the way we give and receive love. The process began with offering a series of original poems to inspire, thought and conversation, and continued with offering participants a series of creative doorways to evoke their own poetry. The process was designed to ignite a new way of understanding and communicating about relationships that is authentic, raw and relatable. The culmination of the project saw Natalia taking the students works to create a collective love poem that represents the pulse of the current relational landscape that is underscored by an original composition by composer Sophia Cristopher. The Living Poetry Project is both a process and an artwork that takes us to a healthier, more empowered relational future.
View the final multimedia piece:
The intersection of the arts, mental health and social health
This projects sits at the intersection of the arts, mental health and social health.
Our relationships are the biggest indicator of our mental wellbeing, yet they are not something we are encouraged to explore, process and change during our formative years. This project seeks to move the needle for young adults by making relationship work /processing accessible though art and safe group process Imagine a world where young adults were empowered to have healthy boundaries, authentic, honest conversations, to look at the ways they may project past wounding into present relationships. There would be less domestic violence, a greater balance of power and a deeper sense of social responsibility. The Living Poetry project is a seed of this future world.
See the students’ original poetry
Project inspiration
This project was developed in conjunction with the writing process of Natalia Rachel’s next book ‘Love Sex Poetry Peace.’ The poems used to inspire the student’s discussion and creative process will be included in this work.
The book looks at the modern relational landscape in the context of a post-covid, commercial and digital world. Natalia combines philosophy/commentary, poetry and fictional stories inspired by her lived experience as a single mother navigating the world of love and relationships. The book seeks to inspire social inquiry as well as a deep call to the healing work that is required for many of us to be able to give and receive healthy love. The book is set to come out late 2025. As yet, Natalia has not landed on a publisher and is taking enquiries from interested publishers.
To bring The Living Poetry Project to your education institution or engage Natalia for a bespoke social arts project, email her directly at Natalia@illumahealth.org