Designed by award-winning creatives and featured by The Guardian, Swirl is a stylised zine aiming to smash the stigma around mental health and offer a striking and concise alternative to current self-help resources.
Introduced by project creator and community mental health nurse Andy Walton, in conversation with illustrator Nate Kitch, and Dr Barbara Mariposa, this event will facilitate an empowering and inspiring discussion around Swirl’s content and the process of managing worry and rumination in modern times. The discussion will be an opportunity to discover the story behind the project, along with practical takeaways from Dr Barbara Mariposa, who will be sharing insights into mindfulness and illustrator Nate Kitch, who will detail the rationale and approach behind his illustrations.
Biographies
Andy Walton
Andy Walton is the founder of Swirl and a community mental health nurse for the leading military veteran charity Combat Stress. Based in North East England, Andy independently launched Swirl in April 2018.
Nate Kitch
Nate Kitch is an award-winning illustrator who works with mixed-media and collage. He has regular work published in The Guardian, as well as clients from around the world.
Dr Barbara Mariposa
Dr Barbara Mariposa is a medical doctor with a background in psychiatry and public health. She now works as an event leader, organisational consultant and author in the fields of mindfulness, emotion mastery, leadership, corporate performance and mental wellbeing.