I’m a local neurodivergent artist and arts facilitator working with trusts, charities and councils across the city. In May, I founded Neurodivergent Arts Community Interest Company to champion neurodivergent creativity as a catalyst for wellbeing, connection and cultural change.
My work has shown me how creativity can help people reconnect – with themselves, with others and with their sense of place. So, when the opportunity came up to be a community curator for next February’s City Reflections: Illuminating Southampton’s Stories, it felt like the perfect fit. The role is about helping the neurodivergent community see themselves reflected in the city’s story – recognising that our creativity and perspectives are part of what makes Southampton unique.
I bring over 20 years’ experience working with both neurodivergent and neurotypical communities, along with wisdom and a deep understanding of the barriers the neurodivergent community can face when engaging with mainstream education, employment and the arts, culture and heritage sector. I also bring lived experience, having navigated and overcome many of these barriers myself.
My City Reflections topic is neurodivergent people/city maps and city wall, and the projection location is The Castle Vaults. My group approached the project by taking a guided walk through the city walls and vaults, which helped us connect physically with the places we’d later research.
Tracing our fingers over the old graffiti, imagining the sounds, smells and atmosphere gave us a real sense of history. That experience became a springboard when we entered the archives, where we were supported by the wonderful Jo Smith and Jo Bailey, who had already prepared collections for us to see. Their knowledge is vast and their passion palpable.
We’re also very grateful to Dan Matthews and Maria Newbury from the Maritime Archives, and to Richard Henry from Archaeology, who supported us throughout the process and helped us retrieve everything we needed to visually and orally tell our story.
So much of Southampton’s history is hidden in plain sight and tucked away within its archives. I don’t think many people realise how much of the city’s history they walk past every day. We rarely slow down for long enough to notice that we’re standing beside an ancient wall, or that an empty space marks where a building once stood before the Blitz. Even the cobbles beneath our feet tell stories, like those along Western Esplanade, where the stones are laid as public art to show where the sea line once reached.
For many, the archives themselves are also a hidden treasure. People might imagine they’re only for researchers, but they’re open to everyone. You can walk in and, within minutes, find yourself face-to-face with history – artefacts, maps and stories that bring the city to life.
That’s why it’s so important to find new ways of sharing and re-imagining these treasures. When people can see, touch, and experience this history for themselves, it reconnects them with Southampton’s rich and diverse tapestry and helps ensure that access truly is for all.
Our vibrant City Reflections installation will reflect the richness of Southampton’s people and places. We hope it will inspire visitors to get to know their city in a new way and to visit the archives themselves, or rediscover places like the vaults, the old city walls, Tudor House, or SeaCity Museum. It’s amazing how often we take a guided tour when we’re on holiday yet rarely explore the city we call home.
The biggest surprise for me when researching for this project was how much more interested in history I’ve become. My relationship with the city has changed too. I often find busy places, loud noises and crowds overwhelming, so I’d walk through Southampton quickly to get to where I needed to be. This project has helped me connect with the city in a new way, finding sanctuary in hidden places where I can slow down, breathe and take it all in.
What has stayed with me is the realisation of just how diverse Southampton has always been. A gateway city, a place of flow, ideas, people, food and customs endlessly arriving, weaving together into a rich cultural tapestry. To co-create a light installation that honours that diversity and carries the voices of our community forward has been not just work, but a privilege - a reminder that heritage is not a static past but a living, breathing conversation.
City Reflections: Illuminating Southampton’s Stories is a physical projection trail that will take place from 6pm to 8pm on Wednesday 18th to Saturday 21st February 2026.
