A colourful collaboration: how Equator created an art therapy colouring book for Lemons of Love
Creativity and care intersect at many points. Equator’s Culture Club found a unique opportunity at exactly one of those intersections to bring the team together for a passion project designed to support the outstanding work by Lemons of Love to provide programs for those impacted by cancer in our communities.
Equator’s employee-led ‘Culture Club’ provides leadership with recommendations for team member engagement and workplace culture.
Wowed by the incredible impact Lemons of Love has made since it launched in 2014, the team came up with a great idea; to design a 15-page art therapy colouring book for Lemons of Love to be included in its chemo care packages.
Art therapy is known for helping people experiencing illness, especially long-term illness, to work through the impact it has had on their life and how it might have changed their values and perspectives on the world.
Everyone in The Culture Club was keen to contribute to the colouring book, especially one of their team members who had battled cancer and experienced chemotherapy first hand. With her perspective, they were ready to get started and make a difference.
As there were so many people keen to get involved, the group decided to create 15 three-person teams. Each was given a shape to inspire the design of an individual page. Over the course of several weeks, each team met over lunch to brainstorm ideas, sketch and draw together.
There was also the exciting matter of the cover page to contend with. It was decided that a competition would be held, with a gallery to showcase and celebrate everyone’s creative work and allow colleagues to vote for their favourite design, with the overall winner taking the cover page.
The resulting colouring book was a fun and lively collection of designs, just waiting to be filled in. As an activity, it brought people together with a shared sense of purpose. As team member Tina commented: “It was so fun to collaborate and create with the team outside the usual confines of our client work and being able to make something felt more fulfilling than just donating money.”
Rachel, another team member, added: “The art therapy colouring book project was a great opportunity to be creative and get to know co-workers in a fun setting. I thought it was a pretty unique thing to do in terms of office events.”
Over the course of the project, the team realized that the colouring book was more than a collection of illustrations. As a medium, it represents hope, love, and resilience in the face of adversity.
Adam summed up the experience sharing, “I strongly believe that laughter is essential to the healing process, so I have injected humour into my pages to provide joy and distraction to patients. Our book is the result of incredible teamwork, with each stroke and page created collaboratively. Together we have created something beautiful that can bring comfort and occupy the time of those who most need it. This book serves as a reminder that even in the darkest times, there is always room for joy. Let us continue spreading hope through art.”
For more information about The Culture Club, visit Equator’s website. Received a Lemons of Love care package recently? Share your story here.
