First Contact

Kew’s wild botanic garden Wakehurst presents First Contact, a new multimedia installation from Fuse Arts Collective that examines attitudes to mental health. Led by a specially designed app, visitors journeying through Wakehurst’s woodlands and gardens will encounter a series of three trees, each accompanied by a sculpted figure representing a person experiencing poor mental health.

As they meet each figure, visitors are encouraged to reflect on how to reach out to someone in need and the lasting impact of that first interaction. Their thoughts, messages, and questions can be shared and recorded in different ways at each tree, from leaving voice messages, to sending digital text messages through the bespoke app, or even handwritten notes. The unique blend of technology, soundscapes, and visual art forms a family-friendly, sensory trail and offers an accessible way to consider what it may feel or sound like to be trying to cope with their own mental health.

Lorraine Lecourtois, Head of Public Programmes at Wakehurst says: "We’re delighted to be working with Fuse Arts Collective to bring this important installation to our visitors. The natural environment can have an immensely positive impact on our mental health and wellbeing, and over the past year we’ve seen many people come to view Wakehurst’s rich landscape as a place of solace. It’s important for us to use our platform to talk about mental health and believe First Contact forms a creative and immersive way of engaging people with these conversations in our wild botanic garden.”

First Contact also offers the opportunity for visitors to contribute to a new significant study developed by Dr Paul Hanna and the University of Surrey. Analysing the ways people engage with the installation and their overall impression of the experience, the study forms the foundation for a major evaluation project into attitudes to mental health. Those who wish to participate further will be invited to take part in a more in-depth survey at the end of the installation.

Dr Paul Hanna, Clinical Psychology Research Director at University of Surrey says: “Mental health communication is central to breaking down some of the boundaries created through mental health sigma and discrimination in society. However, what is also crucial in mental health communication is the way in which the individual speaking out is received. First Contact offers an interactive interaction to its audience in relation to these two issues and I am privileged to once again work alongside the creative team that brought you Blackout.”

Mig Burgess, Director of Fuse Arts Collective and Senior Teaching Fellow at University of Surrey says: “I am excited to once again be working on a creative research project with Dr Paul Hanna. We have combined the power and impact of production design techniques with research in the social science field to forge this innovative interactive walking trail for Mental Health Awareness Week.  First Contact was designed and conceived to break down barriers around the topic of mental health and get us all feeling more comfortable talking to one another about it.  I hope the audience enjoy the experience but also enjoy playing a bigger part of helping us to evaluate this topic to help better understand attitudes towards mental wellbeing.”

First Contact is funded by Arts Council England and is supported by the Mental Health Foundation. Visitors can donate to the Mental Health Foundation during the visit or via the app. The bespoke First Contact app will be available to download from 21 May from the Apple App Store and Google Play.

May half-term: Roam Free!

In addition to First Contact, Wakehurst invites families to get outside together and experience a jam-packed programme of interactive workshops and feel-good fun, all set in the natural surrounds of its spectacular wild botanic garden. 

Families can escape into nature together with the Feel-good challenge, a new mindfulness trail perfect for curious minds of all ages to discover more about the soothing power of the natural world. Panels planted along the trail encourage participants to try mindful exercises including sky-watching, yoga, and getting up-close with nature as they weave through the beautiful landscape. 

Hosted by qualified music therapists, the Sound baths, noise and plant percussions interactive workshop will have children exploring the immense benefits of sound on their wellbeing. From listening out for sounds deep in the garden on silent nature walks, to immersing themselves in the therapeutic sounds of gongs, singing bowls and rain sticks, the 90-minute session offers a myriad of fun and inspiring activities for children to enjoy. 

Feel-good challenge: Suitable for all ages | Daily, 10.00 – 17.00 | Included with garden entry. 

Sound baths, noise and plant percussions: 8 years+ Monday to Friday, 10.30 – 12.00 / 13.30 – 15.00 | 12 years+ Wednesday 13.30 – 15.00 | £22 per child.