Florence Peake: Vitalities
Call for Women and LGBTQIA+ participants
Artist Florence Peake is creating new sculptural works for her upcoming solo exhibition, Vitalities at HOME Manchester.
We are looking for:
- Adults aged 18+
- Women and LGBTQIA+ people
- Those comfortable with exploring themes of grief in a group setting
The project looks at grief, (personal, community, global) by questioning what is left when a physical form has died, dissolved, been removed. Following a period of intense personal grief, Peake will attempt to make the invisible tangible through sculpture. By casting negative space, spaces between bodies, and spaces between bodies and objects, the works consider the presence of bodies/objects, their ghosts and invisible doubles.
Vitalities is part of a wider, two-year project, Your Meaning Not Your Materiality (YMNYM)
To sign up to the taster workshop, please register your interest here:
Key Dates:
Taster recruitment workshop. (Unpaid) Thur 25 Jun 2026, 6-8pm
The taster workshop will include an intro to the project from artist Florence Peake and drawing activities with pen, paper, charcoal and movement.
To sign up to the taster workshop, please register your interest here
Spaces are limited to 20 and offered on a first come first served basis
The taster workshops will take place at HOME (address: 2 Tony Wilson Place, Manchester M15 4FN)
Plaster Casting Workshops (Paid bursary):
Following the taster workshop, Florence Peake will invite 5 interested participants to take part in the full process of paid workshops.
You must be available for all the dates if you accept the invitation to take part.
- Weds 23 Sept, 10am-4pm
- Thurs 24 Sept, 10am-4pm
- Fri 25 Sept, 10am-4pm
- Mon 28 Sept, 10am-4pm
- Tues 29 Sept, 10am-4pm
Sessions will include breaks totaling 1 hour, not covered by bursary.
Workshops will take place at HOME (address: 2 Tony Wilson Place, Manchester M15 4FN)
Exhibition Dates: (Unpaid)
9 Oct 2026: Exhibition Preview. Join us to celebrate the launch of the exhibition.
10 Oct 2026: Exhibition opens to the public
Bursary: (Provided by Peake’s Vitalities project)
· £80 per day cash bursary per session
· £10 travel bursary per session
· Total x 5 sessions = £450 inc. travel (£80 x 5) + (£10 x 5)
What to expect
Participants will co-create sculptures by plaster casting space between bodies, facilitated by Florence Peake (https://www.florencepeake.com/) and supported by psychotherapist and pastoral support, Scarlet Ma. (https://www.scarletma.com/)
Workshops will start and end with participant welfare check ins/outs, led by the artist and a psychotherapist. Creative tasks at the workshops will include; discussion, writing, movement, and plaster casting. The plaster casting work involves using your body to make shapes. Plaster is poured into the space between posed/positioned bodies to create sculptures.
The workshops are trauma-informed and participant-led. Participation is voluntary at all times; if you do not choose to participate, please inform the artist, psychotherapist or HOME member of staff who will accommodate your preference. The positions and shapes you will create with your body are what feels comfortable for you. Participants will be facilitated to ensure everyone’s comfort levels are respected. If you’d like to ask any questions about the workshops or conversations to see if this process could be right for you, please email jim@jimtuck.com
Participation considerations:
● We advise that this process could be unhelpful for anyone who has experienced recent loss and/or grief that significantly impacts their current daily life.
● We do not recommend participating in this process if exploratory conversations about grief could be unmanageable within your current circumstances and existing access to support.
● This is a collective art-making process and is not an offer of therapy.
● Sessions will be held in a group setting, and do not offer any opportunity for 1-1 support.
● Your co-created abstract sculpture will be shared in a public gallery and is intended for a public audience.
● Personal content shared during the creative process will remain confidential. The artist, psychotherapist, studio manager and HOME member of staff will not be taking notes on individuals’ personal experiences of grief or trauma.
● Florence Peake’s creative team will adhere to HOME’s policies on Safeguarding, Code of Conduct, Sexual Harassment, GDPR policy.
● Access support is available, such as: BSL interpreter, access support worker, accessible transport, and other needs that you may wish to enquire about.
● You will be asked to wear clothing that you don’t mind getting plaster on. Participants will be clothed throughout.
● Drinks & snacks throughout workshops are provided. The workshops in September 2026 are a paid opportunity, lunch is not provided.