Rafooghar at BICOMH 2026

Rafooghar was featured at the Biennial International Congress on Mental Health (BICOMH) 2026 in Singapore through the screening of Dastaan-e-Rafoo : Stories in Stitches - a film by Harmeet Basur on the women of Rafooghar who gather here every Sunday to rest, stitch their stories and reflect on their needs and desires, away from the demands of home and family along with the workshop Community Care and Lived Experiences through Collective Textile Practices.

Invited to present her work on Arts in community Mental Health, Roshni Bhatia from Rafooghar drew on the collective practice of the Rafooghar space and socially engaged art practice to explore how health can be a part of the conversation and nurtured through community, creativity, belonging, and culturally rooted practices. The presentation reflected on how art therapy principles such as psychological safety, agency, choice, and participation can strengthen community spaces.

The presentation and experiential workshop were facilitated in Singapore by Kelly Reedy, art therapist and educator, bringing Rafooghar's methodology into an international dialogue. 

The session fostered exchange across contexts, exploring how locally rooted approaches to care can inspire practice in different parts of the world.

At the heart of this work are the women of the Rafooghar collective, whose creativity, trust, and lived experiences continue to shape what community care can look like.