Collage a Coffin

 Last week saw the culmination of an idea I had some time ago to hold a coffin decorating workshop to give people an opportunity to combine creativity with the chance to talk openly about death. Fate brought me into contact with Co-op funeral arranger, Kate Ramsey, from B. Johnson Funeral Care in Cadishead, and she loved the idea, and managed to secure support from her manager for the project.

Weeks of planning and publicising later, and we ran the workshop in Eccles Library! It was a fantastic day. The coffin was brought by hearse, accompanied by funeral directors, pall bearers, and funeral arrangers and planners, who chatted to the interested public and gave out literature and goody bags, before we formally paraded the coffin into the library.

Once inside, Andrea from Art&Soulmcr took over and guided participants to create a stunning, botanical themed coffin, assisted by a palliative care nurse from Salford Royal, and some of Salford City Council’s Bereavement Team. Conversations were had and questions were asked of the various professionals in attendance, with several participants commenting that they had got answers they needed on a range of topics, and had some uplifting conversations alongside that.

Andrea Painting the coffin

Participants getting creative

After the event, we carried the coffin into position in the library, where it is going to be on display for Dying Matters week and beyond, with a display of books and pamphlets on death and bereavement to help people deal with these things.

Andrea, Kate, me, and Claire Gorton, Library Development Officer

The event was everything I’d dreamed of and more, and I’ll be popping into the library regularly to see the stunning art we created (I say we: my only contribution was sticking a flower on at the end!). It demonstrated the need for spaces to talk about these stigmatised and difficult topics, and that getting creative can also help with processing grief.

The event was covered by Salford Media, who got some cracking photos of it all here. Thanks so much to everyone involved, those who believed in my crazy idea enough to work with me, support me, and those who trusted it enough to sign up and attend. It was a real group effort but we created something beautiful and lasting, both on the day and in the coffin itself.

Would you like to attend an event like this, or do you have ideas for similar? If it’s something you’d like to put on in your area and you want any advice, get in touch!