Our Cause
When words are not enough, art therapy can help
The Red Pencil brings the power of creative arts therapy around the world to individuals, both children and adults, who have been through adverse life circumstances, for which they have no words.
Our programmes help them recover, feel better and grow through therapeutic arts, offering them alternative means of non-verbal expression and re-instilling a dynamic of life towards balance, empowerment, and resilience.
Our STRUCTURE
First founded in Singapore in 2011, The Red Pencil has since then expanded its scope of activities and geographic presence, growing from a single mission to a thriving network of independent entities based in Asia and in Europe. Together, we aim to bring the benefits of art therapy to vulnerable populations around the world, offering creative arts therapy programs that meet the evolving needs of people in diverse cultural contexts.
Our IMPACT
The Red Pencil collaborated with local partner Blackheath Area Neighbourhood Centre and donor Daniel Polner to assist children and families (aged from 3 to 90 years old) in their post-bushfires recovery.
The Red Pencil works on 4 main axes : healthcare, social inclusion, education and post-pandemic psychosocial support. The programmes are conducted around clinical sessions for patients and arts-based capacity building (“trainings”) for others. The aim is to relieve populations from personal hurdles and give them tools to implement in their every-day lives. Please visit the Red Pencil (Europe) website for more info.
The Red Pencil conducted a 3-step humanitarian mission in Cambodia. Its missions were assisted by local partners HAGAR International and Angkor Hospital For Children in order to provide rehabilitative art therapy services to children and adults rescued from human trafficking, and training of HAGAR staff and caregivers on trauma.
The mission took place in the Sichuan region in collaboration with the Singapore Red Cross.
The 2017 mission was led in collaboration with Singa France in order to support refugees in their integration and allow them to regain a sense of wellbeing. The 2021 mission was organized around 5 clinical programmes and 1 arts-based capacity building and training in collaboration with Association Aurore focusing on youth and their post-pandemic struggles with social exclusion.
The missions were emergency humanitarian missions, arts-based capacity building and training of caregivers led in collaboration with Pakrima Humanity Foundation, Tree of Hope, National Society for Change for Childhood Cancer in India, International Foundation for Crime Prevention and Victim Care, Child Rights And You.
The programme took place in Lombok. It lasted as a humanitarian mission for a 3-step mission, 6 month residency and a 2-month residency and impacted in total 257 persons, caregivers as well as children. Local partners Pemdula Peduli, Volunteer programs bali, Ypkai and donor DEME4Life Foundation accompanied The Red Pencil. The main focus was on restoring hope and a sense of community among traumatized or ill children through arts therapy.
8 Japanese children were participants of an Art exchange program in collaboration with Singapore’s Red cross. The “Art Therapy circle-time” retreat took place in Singapore and enabled distressed children to escape from the catastrophe and offer them psychological support.
The missions took place in Kibera and Nairobi with the help of The Turning Point Trust, Uweza Foundation and Edinboro University, Faraja Cancer Support and donor Faber Castell. Trainees and patients were offered help to cope with the challenges of cancer on a holistic approach. On the second mission, both online and on site training sessions were organized to provide caregivers with tools to strengthen their mental health resilience and coping skills post COVID-19, enabling them to help children dealing with emotional regulation issues.
The missions were emergency humanitarian missions in order to alleviate the suffering of emotionally distressed adults and children from the Yazidi community and other minorities in Kurdistan region of Iraq. They were organized with the help of the Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights, Yazda and donors Fondation Jean-François Peterbroeck and futur 21.
Five missions were led by the Red Pencil and focused on local residency, training programmes and community outreach. over the years, the aim of the missions was to develop safe therapeutic places for war-affected populations enabling them to freely express themselves and provide caregivers with tools for expression. Check our website for more information and the list of local partners.
A humanitarian mission was organized for 40 students and 18 caregivers in order to raise awareness on arts therapy and provide support through the use of the visual journal. The Red Pencil received the help of local partner organization Soroptimists International Johor Bahru (SIJB).
The Red Pencil in collaboration with the Archdiocese of Taunggyi and donor Vandenborre family, helped orphans in the expression of their needs and feelings through visual journaling and self-exploration.
Four missions focused on 3-step humanitarian missions, trauma relief and art therapy exploration. Its aim was to gauge the scope of implementing art therapy interventions, determine beneficiaries and assess the needs of the targeted population. Check our website for more information and the list of local partners.
Art therapy sessions were organized with partner Dispositif Relais de Nouméa in order to encourage students who dropped out of school or are on the verge of dropping out to build a successful career path.
A trauma and stress/secondary stress relief mission was led in Christchurch with partner organization Care for the Quake in order to involve carers in a process of co-creating arts therapy-based tools. These tools could be used further on.
Two missions of Start-Up! and art therapy residency were organized as tools to help regulate intrafamilial violence and reduce anxiety and stress levels among children and teenagers. Fundación Integración Comunitaria was a local partner.
Empowered Beneficiaries
Our contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals
Mental health is a cornerstone of SDG 3, which emphasizes good health and wellbeing, as “There is no health without mental health” according to the World Health Organization. Mental health is also connected to other SDGs, such as the reduction of inequalities (SDG 10), education and learning opportunities (SDG 4) and promoting gender equality (SDG 5), as poor mental health is a factor in social exclusion and has an impact on learning.
Meet The founders
Laurence de Groote, a registered and credentialed Arts Therapist, founded the Red Pencil with her husband Alain Vandenborre, after having witnessed the distress of children and their families who were victims of the tsunami in 2004. At that time, she worked at Raffles hospital, a private hospital in Singapore, and had a chance to support children who had been in the waves. She could witness how creative arts therapy could be rapidly life-changing, which became the seed of The Red Pencil.
“At The Red Pencil, we aim to instil hope and empowerment through creative arts therapy to vulnerable children, adults, families, and communities facing traumatic life circumstances towards CHANGE; to improve mental health and resilience in creating a better and happier future for oneself and for others.
My vision is for every individual to harness the creative process of the arts as a means to nurture their mental, physical, and emotional well-being, fostering recovering and self-empowerment. At The Red Pencil we aspire to extend the life-changing benefits of creative arts therapy worldwide, reaching individuals at any stage of life. Since our inception in 2011, we have witnessed individuals and communities, initially unfamiliar with art-making, undergo a revival through engaging in the process of creative arts therapy.
Before they can even speak and write, children use pencils and colors to express themselves, their feelings, thoughts and ideas. Later, when they can talk, words are sometimes inadequate for children to express what they are experiencing and if they are feeling sadness, fear or anger, drawing offers them another of channeling those emotions in a safe and socially acceptable way. As they become adults, there may be other reasons why people can’t put their emotions and thoughts into words, and where creative arts therapy fills a necessary gap. When older people reach the shore of their lives, some memories or relationships may need sensitive wrapping before they leave.”
Meet Our ambassadors
Our Partners
Our operating model is highly collaborative, as we partner with local organizations, creative art therapists, and donors worldwide to fulfil our mission.
