Together, let’s celebrate the beauty of diversity, resilience, and self-love.
Your story matters, and we can’t wait to bring it to life through art.
Changing the Body Image Conversation through Creative Expression
A collaborative community project with artist Leda van der Post (The CREATiVE JOURNEY®)
Beyond the Mirror
is a community project tackling body image issues through creative expression and storytelling. We aim to create a supportive and inclusive space where people can share their experiences, challenge societal norms, and spark a wider conversation about body image.
Begun as a collaboration between artist Leda van der Post and the team behind the Off-Broadway musical #DoesMyAssLookFat, BEYOND THE MIRROR has been extended to include a collaborative, community-based project in Australia. Our intention is to create an immersive multimedia experience that will contribute to positive change. You don’t need to be an artist to join us—everyone has a unique creative spark.
Our vision goes beyond capturing images and stories; we aim to inspire transformation. We want to promote body positivity and self-acceptance, one story at a time.
Our Goals
♡ Understand the body image issues our community faces.
♡ Create impactful multimedia pieces to shift the body image conversation.
♡ Explore body image issues through a playful and creative lens.
♡ Have participants rediscover their creative side and use it in everyday life.
Our project needs YOUR voice!
The BEYOND THE MIRROR journey starts with focus groups to help us understand what the community needs.
In these sessions, we will engage with community members to gather your insights and use them to shape the project.
We’d love to hear from you if:
♡
you have body image concerns and want to change your relationship with your body through a creative process
♡
you’ve overcome body image challenges and can share your story
♡
you know someone with body image issues and want to help create positive change
♡
you’ve undergone body image interventions (like cosmetic surgery or weight loss programs) and want to share your story
Your experiences, insights and creativity are vital to making BEYOND THE MIRROR a powerful and impactful project.
Interested in joining or learning more? Please come to our next focus group.
Together, we can create a project that reflects our shared experiences, and build a community where everyone feels seen, valued and empowered.
Next FOCUS GROUP
** October **
The focus groups provide an opportunity for you to meet the BEYOND THE MIRROR team, in an informal and welcoming space.
You can expect a short presentation about the story behind BEYOND THE MIRROR, followed by an open discussion on the topic of body image and how multimedia storytelling could contribute to positive change. This will provide the opportunity for community members to share ideas that will inform the design of the project, and contribute to its positive impact.
News…
Dr Leda van der Post is a multidisciplinary artist whose work navigates the powerful integration of words and images. Through her unique approach, she invites viewers to explore themes of identity, narrative, and self-discovery.
Leda is an author, painter, and photographer who has had her own lifelong journey of coming to terms with her body. She has used her unusual combination of creativity, understanding of technology, and education practice in her artwork and teaching to support others to access and develop their creative intelligence.
Leda wrote her first book My Body, My Muse | Healing Your Body Image Through Creativity to share a unique creative process she had used successfully with many clients who wanted a new way to change the way they lived in their bodies.
Leda is excited to see what further direction this project will embody with YOU and your participation!
#Does My Ass Look Fat is a musical comedy about loving your body before it’s too late. Currently under production and due for release in NYC in 2025, the producers aim to bring the show to Australia in the near future.
Beyond the Mirror | JOURNAL
A selection of short articles about BODY IMAGE and CREATIVITY.
What IS body image?
Or, what does it mean to you, and is that the same as what it means to me? This question led to such an interesting…
So how does CREATIVITY change your body image?
Or, the surprising power of your creative thinking! If you are suffering from poor body image, then it’s likely you have tried all sorts of…
Look at your body in a new way
With Beyond the Mirror – a creative body image project We worry about our weight and our looks because we have been told from a…