3 minute read
Kim Morton
A Kristin foundation student in 1973, Kim Morton is involved in ground-breaking work in the field of
arts and mental health and credits her desire to make a difference to her years spent at Kristin. The director of Otautahi Creative Spaces in Christchurch, Kim was recently awarded a Winston Churchill -
Fellowship to travel to Denmark and the UK to learn about the Arts on Prescription scheme.
In 1973 Kim aged seven and her sister Hilary aged eight were among 22 children on day one of Kristin School at Campbells Bay. The three years spent at Kristin were to have a defining impact on her life.
“When I think about Kristin, I have this sense of freedom and exploration and timelessness – my favourite memory is making huts in the bush. We were immersed in nature – the bush and the coast – and we also had incredible opportunities to explore the world beyond, from marae visits to weeklong trips away.”
Although too young to appreciate how radical this emergent school was, Kim now reflects on the integral role of families – who were at the heart of the school – and the pioneering spirit of building something together.
The value placed on music and art at Kristin laid the foundations for Kim’s lifelong love of creativity, and she also credits Kristin for nurturing her adventurous spirit.
Kim followed several pathways after leaving school. She studied law at the University of Otago and worked in consumer and community law, specialising in welfare law, and undertook research into beneficiaries’ access to justice. “This is an area of the law that gets little attention, but impacts so seriously on people’s lives. I was motivated to try and tackle the imbalance of power between a large government ministry and individual citizens.”
A life-changing experience that resonates with Kim’s time at Kristin was a four-month placement as a conservation volunteer on Raoul Island. She was one of only 16 people stationed on the remote island, doing weed control work. “Away from the fast pace of city life, we had total freedom – we were completely immersed in the rugged subtropical landscape; the island is an active volcano and there’s no way of getting off. You had to be resourceful. We had the time of our lives.”
Kim’s experience of the Christchurch earthquakes and seeing the heavy toll on the mental health of the community were the catalyst for establishing Otautahi Creative Spaces, a charity - which uses creativity as a tool to build wellbeing. “We’re striving for a world where creativity is front and centre in mental health. It’s an unconventional approach and it’s proven to work – through being part of a creative community, people develop positive identities as artists and achieve amazing things. Creativity is a force for change.”
Having led Otautahi Creative Spaces for the past five years, Kim is now exploring how access to creativity for wellbeing can be - improved in New Zealand. In 2019 she was awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship to visit Arts on Prescription programmes in Denmark and the UK. Similar to green prescriptions, an Arts on Prescription scheme would expand access and recognise the health benefits of sharing creative pursuits with others.
COVID-19 has disrupted Kim’s travel plans but also allowed for recalibration – she’s grateful for the thinking space and the chance to reconnect with the people and landscape of Lyttelton, the port town she lives in.
Kim’s experience at Kristin is woven through her life – she’s grateful to her parents for their bold move to join the new school community they’d read about. “Kristin paved the way for me to follow what I’m passionate about. Those formative early years instilled a strong sense of adventure and, on reflection, laid the foundations for my drive to make a positive difference.”
