A series of workshops in Ards & North Down as part of the "Peace In Mind" programme.
Health Minds enabling Healthy Peaceful Communities.
“Beyond Skin is at the cutting edge of work using the arts to help tackle complex societal issues that contribute to the burden of mental illness in the UK. This project is a fantastic example of how we can use the expertise of artists to transform the lives of individuals and communities.” Dr Daisy Fancourt, Associate Professor at University College London and Director of the MARCH Network
Supported by Arts Council Northern Ireland (Principal Funder) and Good Relations Ards & North Down Council.
In partnership with PeopleHQ and Over The Hill.
Email beyondskinoffice@gmail.com for registration or request for a private workshop for your group.
Juanita Rea is a social entrepreneur, wellbeing specialist and artist activist, passionate about nurturing the mental health and wellbeing of underserved communities through access to mindfulness, yoga, changemaker programmes alongside enabling healing through the creative arts. She completed a Bachelor of Primary Education in South Africa in 2000 and has worked as a primary school teacher in government, private and international schools in SA, South Korea, the UK, the Philippines and Sudan. In 2011, Juanita founded eduSOIL http://www.edusoil.com/ a social enterprise focused on addressing the gaps in mental health and citizenship education, especially in underserved communities where youth and education experience learning barriers and emotional upheaval caused and compounded by issues such as poverty, violence, environmental degradation. Juanita has served as the Director of Design For Change (DFC) Philippines, South Africa and Sudan https://www.dfcworld.com/, educating learners and educators about how to take action on issues affecting them using a design thinking framework in alignment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals while enabling children access to digital platforms https://stories.dfcworld.com/ and gatherings https://btcrome.dfcworld.com/ to share their stories of change within a global community of changemakers.
In 2019, completed her Masters in Education, through a UNICAF scholarship, evaluating the impact of a yoga and mindfulness programme on the stress reactivity, self-regulation and social-emotional competencies of learners and educators in inner-city Johannesburg. Through her work with eduSOIL and DFC, Juanita has touched thousands of lives and has received Spark Changemaker, LifeCo Enterprizer and Lioness of Africa awards in SA. Juanita is a lifelong learner and meditator and has trained to deliver Yoga and Mindfulness, Sustainability Education and Design Thinking programmes while designing innovative tools and resources for children and adults.
As an artist activist Juanita has been striving to destigmatise childhood sexual trauma, while prioritising her personal wellbeing and nurturing that of others. She has been doing this through the creation of poetry, memoir, songs and visual art that express insights on self-image and sexuality impacted by childhood sexual trauma, of which she is a survivor. Juanita believes that her biggest contribution to the wellbeing of others lies in her own ability to pause, breathe and heal and is passionate about sharing opportunities for learners of all ages to do the same.
