Hello everyone and welcome to Into The Now. My name’s Dee and I’m very privileged and proud to provide a creative service for people from all walks of life to experience the arts in a welcoming and safe environment.

In our classes, we use the arts as a tool for self-expression, allowing our thoughts and emotions to channel our creative output with the intention of creating positive effects on our general wellbeing. We also have the opportunity to learn practical and social skills, gain nationally recognised accreditations, have our work shared and promoted and have a lot of fun.

My story 

On my journey, I have, like many others, experienced traumatic life events from an early age which have left a lasting impact on my wellbeing, leading to issues which resulted in negative self-esteem and mental health challenges throughout my life. What saved me? Music. I have such fond memories of sitting round friends’ houses, messing around with cheap, basic instruments with no musical knowledge and creating our own unique sound.

During those moments, I forgot all my troubles and unknowingly learned valuable skills, creating a career path, as without GCSEs and any trade, my life looked bleak.

Fast forward to now… I’ve been working on creative projects since 2001, including performing my own work in front of 20,000 people, had records released on digital platforms and on vinyl, fronted a band, managed international music projects, produced documentaries and music videos, worked as a teacher and a workshop tutor, obtained a BA in Music Production and Technology, trained as a Skilled Listener, and worked in and run recording studios. To push me further, I am doing my master’s degree in music at Christ Church University Canterbury, producing local artists at the studio and, as an artist, am now part of signed indie electronica act Seb-e-deE and playing as Angeldee, my solo acoustic act. Without those days of just messing around with my friends with no pressures, I would have never achieved any of this.

Music gave so much to me. It’s now time to give back, which leads me to Into the Now. Its maiden project was designed on the principles I gained from those early days, being in a safe space with like-minded people experimenting with the creative tool of choice.

The origins of Into The Now

To achieve this on a funded project, it was participant-led, where a group of at-risk young people during lockdown collaborated with skilled professionals.  This led to the practitioners and participants (who I like to call artists and collaborators) coproducing pieces of digital art.

We delivered the entire project remotely via Zoom, and combined many art forms like music production, composition, performance, camera skills, green screen, drawing, digital animation, video editing, model making and puppeteering. The work was professionally released, featured on the BBC and community radio, broadcast at festivals and is raising money for charity, giving back even more. Add to that the positive effects on the wellbeing of the participants which they shared in their podcasts, the project exceeded expectations and targets.

With continued support and funding from Arts Council England, the National Youth Agency, NHS Slam Recovery College and 4S Media and Content, I am now able to take this even further by setting this up as a community interest company to provide these facilities on a wider scale. These projects can be tailored to suit the needs of each individual or group, and include artists and collaborators in person, remotely or a mix of both to create meaningful works of art with a plethora of potential positive outcomes, proving that the beauty of us as humans is our similarities and differences which can lead us to achieve great things.

I look forward to collaborating with many wonderful artists in the future providing calm in the chaos and to continue my own creative healing journey. To find out more, contact us when you are ready. Take care.