The Holding Palette CIC

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The Holding Palette CIC

Based in Altrincham, we use art therapy and creative practice to support wellbeing and connection across Trafford.

Founded by a registered art psychotherapist, we’re a local not‑for‑profit dedicated to making mental health support accessible for everyone.

12/10/2026

The Holding Palette CIC now has its own creative space!

When we first took on this studio, it definitely needed some imagination. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve somehow found myself plastering the walls (not entirely successfully 😅), painting the walls, and giving the very tired old floor a new coat of paint, and all of which I’d never done before. And this week, the studio was ready to welcome its first cohort of participants for our six-week therapeutic arts programme.

From an unfinished room to a space that can now hold people, conversations and creative experiences. That feels like a pretty good beginning.

19/09/2026

We haven’t posted for a little while, but we’ve been busy behind the scenes! And there are some exciting things coming up at The Holding Palette CIC.

One piece of lovely news this September is that we have secured funding from Forever Manchester through the Circle Funerals Fund to bring four Vessels of Colour creative wellbeing workshops to Trafford for people with caring responsibilities.

We know that not everyone sees themselves as a "carer", and caring responsibilities can take many forms, and often, so much energy goes into caring for other people that there is very little space left for ourselves. Vessels of Colour is a one-hour creative wellbeing workshop that offers a gentle space to slow down and create. Through art-making and the metaphor of a vessel, we explore self-care, emotional capacity and what helps us feel supported. This workshop was really well received when delivered during Carers Week earlier this year, so we are happy that we are able to bring it back to the community so more people with caring responsibilities can have a space to care for themselves.

Alongside this, we’re getting ready to deliver two cohorts of our six-week River of Change programme with young people from the Hong Kong community. This project is in partnership with Trafford Hongkongers CIC through the National Lottery Community Fund. We hope to create a space where young people can use art to explore identity and belonging; this can be especially meaningful for young people growing up across different places, languages and cultures.

And another new beginning for us: The Inkstone, our participatory creative initiative, will be holding its first project: Family Water Lily Pond.

Over six weeks, parents and children will learn simple sumi-e-inspired ink painting techniques and work together to create a shared water-lily pond artwork. Beyond learning something new, the project is about giving families regular time to practise patience, solve little creative challenges, encourage one another and enjoy a positive shared experience. This project is part of the Live Well Trafford initiative funded by Trafford Council, and we are proud to partner with Trafford Hongkongers CIC again to bring this project to the community.

So there is quite a lot happening behind the scenes at the moment!

Oh! Our first funded Vessels of Colour workshop will take place in December, and we’ll be sharing more information about the session and how to join soon. Stay tuned!

Jasmine xx
Founder, The Holding Palette CIC

19/06/2026

Last night we completed the final session of River of Change, our six-week therapeutic arts programme exploring change, support and belonging.

Over the past few weeks, participants used imagery to gently reflect on what we carry, what supports us, and what helps us stay afloat during times of transition.

For the final session, we created a shared safe place for our boats to rest. Each participant brings their own colours, marks, textures and symbols to the collective artwork, creating a shared place where each boat could belong without needing to be the same.

It felt like a meaningful ending: different journeys resting together in one shared river space.

Thank you to everyone who shared this river journey with us with such openness and creativity.

05/06/2026

We’re so excited to be one of the activity providers for Carers Week with Trafford Carers Centre and even more delighted to share that our session fully booked as soon as it went live.

There are no remaining spaces, but if you’d like to be added to the waiting list, you’re very welcome to sign up via Eventbrite:

https://cw26holdingpalette.eventbrite.com

22/05/2026

The Holding Palette CIC is thrilled to be one of Trafford Carers Centre’s Carers Week activity providers!

We’ll be offering a therapeutic art workshop exploring self-care and containment through water-based art materials. It will be a gentle, creative space to pause, reflect and make something meaningful: fun, relaxing, and no art experience needed.

15/05/2026

Yesterday we held the first session of River of Change in partnership with Trafford Hongkongers CIC. Our new therapeutic arts programme exploring transition, identity and belonging through the metaphor of a river.

This first session invited participants to begin by asking: “Where am I in the river right now?”

Through paint, collage, colour, texture and symbolic image-making, participants started creating personal river maps: some calm and spacious, some uncertain or fragmented, some still searching for direction. There was no expectation to explain everything in words. The creative process itself became a way to reflect, notice and connect.

What felt especially meaningful was seeing a group of Hongkongers sitting together around the table, each bringing their own memories, experiences and ways of making sense of change. Even in a first session, there were already moments of quiet concentration, conversation, humour and shared understanding.

River of Change is part of The Holding Palette CIC’s developing therapeutic arts programmes: structured, clinically informed creative spaces using metaphor and art-making for early emotional support, reflection and connection.

I’m very grateful to everyone who joined and helped shape the beginning of this journey together.

Photos shared with participants’ consent.

04/05/2026

This is my own reflective artwork created during the development of River of Change, our new therapeutic arts six-week programme exploring transition, identity, memory, adaptation, and belonging.

The programme is art therapy-informed but gently held for a community setting. We use metaphor, structure, and creative reflection to support emotional exploration, with no need for prior art experience or pressure to share beyond what feels right.

I’m really encouraged that the programme became fully booked within one night of being listed on Eventbrite, before we had even started wider promotion. This feels like a strong sign that there is a real need for creative, reflective spaces where people can gently explore the emotional experience of migration and settlement.

River of Change will be piloted in partnership with Trafford Hongkongers CIC, with Hongkongers settling in the UK. I’m looking forward to learning from this first group and continuing to develop the programme with care.

Jasmine
Founder & Art Therapist
The Holding Palette

24/04/2026

What makes our therapeutic arts interventions different?

At The Holding Palette CIC, our work is not simply about making art to feel better, although creativity can absolutely be soothing and joyful. It is also not the same as clinical art therapy, which offers a deeper therapeutic space for people with more complex needs.

Our therapeutic arts interventions sit in the early support space.

They are structured, clinically informed programmes that use creativity, metaphor, and art-making to help people explore emotional experiences that can be difficult to put into words.

Each programme is designed and delivered by a qualified art therapist with a background in psychology. This means the sessions are accessible and community-based, while still being grounded in emotional safety, psychological understanding, and careful facilitation.

We use metaphors such as oceans, vessels, and rivers as gentle ways into complex feelings. Through art-making, participants can notice, express, and make meaning of their internal experiences at their own pace.

Our aim is not to produce beautiful artwork, or to offer quick “feel good” activities. It is to create carefully held spaces where people can build emotional awareness, connection, and confidence before difficulties escalate.

This is what we mean by therapeutic arts intervention: creative, accessible, psychologically grounded early support for our communities.

Address

Greater Manchester

Website

http://www.theholdingpalette.org.uk/

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