It's June 2023, we're enjoying long, hot days (remember those?) and looking forward to a slow summer ahead of us. We're wrapping up our last Philo sessions and engaging in conversation with local community, still thinking about the need for third spaces. As a family, we're continuing to unschool and unlearn, preparing for the new baby and taking time to reflect on what's building. At this time, we can't say when or how Philo will resume but we close our first chapter knowing that everything has its time.
Fast forward to April 2024, after spending the last few months preparing, we're getting ready to launch again in a new way! With our previous venue in Bellingham closing, we had to completely move out but we didn't feel stationary. Since moving, the learning, the reimagining and preparing for the next chapter has felt even more urgent than before. We ourselves have been rediscovering our need and desire to make art and realising the healing play and art brings us, have fine tuned our values looking at what we have in our hands to offer.
An important part of what we are doing is aiming to creating safe space. When our last venue closed we knew we needed to remain in Lewisham, but had no idea where we were going to move to next. But, we finally found our space - in a quiet, residential area at the edge of Lewisham in a purpose built youth club, an amazing space with a story to match!
Our values remain, access to safe space needs to be free. We're considering the needs of marginalised communities and hopeful that where play and art are freely explored, we'll begin to experience collective healing. So we're crowdfunding again, asking the wider community to share what they have as we continue to offer this space. Please do share with your networks - every share of the crowdfunder is greatly appreciated!
Thank you for all your support and if you connect with our story in anyway, please let us know! We'd love to hear from you.
Have a great Easter weekend!