Creative Lives is delighted to have collaborated with writer and facilitator Roshni Beeharry, Reading Borough Council, BBC Radio Berkshire, and the Reading Basingstoke Community Rail Partnership to produce a piece of mindful artwork now on display at Reading Green Park Station.

In August 2024, Creative Lives led a series of workshops for local residents in South Reading. Participants produced poetry on the theme of journeys and migration, which passengers can now read while waiting for their train. 

The exhibition is a wonderful tribute to cultural diversity, and the journeys people make to and from South Reading. This piece of community-derived art hopes to bring moments of calm and mindfulness during busy city commutes and to celebrate the people of Whitley and Church wards in South Reading. 

Working with the artist over a series of workshops, 10 local residents each crafted a poem to reflect their experience of journeys, diversity, identity, and nature in South Reading. These are now on display at the Reading Green Park Station.

Reading Green Park Station Manager, Tom Butler, said: “We’re proud to host this creative celebration at Reading Green Park station. Forming creative spaces at our stations is something very close to our hearts at GWR, and we hope these poems will provide our customers and the wider community with a welcome moment of mindfulness to get their journeys off to a peaceful start.”

Adele Barnett-Ward, Reading Borough Council’s Lead Councillor for Leisure and Culture, said: “Creative activities play a crucial role in fostering community connections and individual well-being, this project and exhibition at Green Park station is a fantastic example of this. I’m pleased the council has been a part of this tribute to cultural diversity, celebrating the people of Whitley and Church wards in South Reading."

Roshni Beeharry, artist and writer said: “Writing and sharing our reflections is a wonderful way to come together as a community. I loved facilitating the two workshops in the different weather conditions of Whitley Growallot. Week one was sunny and dry, week two we dodged in and out of rain showers! The group immersed themselves in the varying sensory richness of the allotment, to produce wonderful pieces of writing and shared memories.”

Faye Harland, Senior Producer at BBC Radio Berkshire said: “BBC Radio Berkshire is proud to support the work Creative Lives has been doing in the community in Reading to unlock creativity and expression.”

The poems will remain at the station for commuters to enjoy for the foreseeable future. 

This project is part-funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. For more information, visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus