Our Values

• We are warm, open, humble, authentic

• We listen without judgement

• We invite play and curiosity

• We believe in art as a vehicle to connect with ourselves and others

• We believe that attention to the mental wellbeing of a company is a necessity, not a luxury

• We inspire and resource people

• We empower people to expand their own horizons

We combine traditional Learning & Development theory with a humanistic approach grounded in
Expressive Arts Therapy

Our experience brings together an understanding of organizational needs and work cultures with expertise in
arts-based interventions

People Horizons history

People Horizons was born 15 years ago, while Shelan was living in Kenya, as a small Learning & Development consultancy. Its focus was on leadership development, anti-discrimination training, and coaching within the conservation and horticultural sectors in Kenya and South Africa, as well as personal development retreats for individuals. In 2012, Shelan returned to Europe and her former career as a Sales Director in the International Education sector, and subsequently qualified as a dramatherapist in Spain.

Marta and Shelan's paths crossed in Barcelona where Marta was the lead tutor on the Drama Therapy Masters programme Shelan was taking. Polish by nationality, Marta had also lived in the Netherlands and Spain. She brings to People Horizons a passionate and consistent commitment to the power of art, with many years of experience in the world of theatre and Expressive Arts Therapy.

People Horizons is founded on the belief that creativity is an intrinsic part of mental wellbeing. We use art to open windows - to oneself, and to others - creating a lightness of step, an ability to bounce back and engage with the experience of work in a positive and productive way.

Shelan Rodger

1. LinkedIn

• Oxford University graduate (Modern Languages)

• EFL teacher

• Writer (two published novels to date)

• Masters in Drama Therapy, ISEP, Spain

• 9 years in Argentina: developed theatre for English and set up a school

• Over 20 years´ senior management experience in international education (in both operations and international sales), living in the UK and in Spain

• More than 5 years´ learning and development experience (training, coaching, and evaluation for companies and NGOs operating in Kenya and South Africa), living in Kenya

• English and Spanish speaker

“

Storytelling, myth, and ritual were a part of my childhood on a remote aboriginal island north of Australia. Words were colours that lived and breathed and sang. They held my hand from an early age.

My life has moved like a river between different shores: Nigeria, my birthplace, the Australian islands of my childhood, long chapters in England, Argentina, Kenya, and Spain. Where do we get our sense of self? What is personal identity? These are questions that swim beneath the surface of my novels. We carry so many potential selves within us, and life can throw so many twists and turns in our path.

Art and nature have been constant companions on my own path and the pull towards creative therapies after years of working in international education and learning & development felt natural. I believe that creativity is a necessity of the human spirit, a crucial part of mental wellbeing. The language of metaphor speaks to us through our body and movement, through improvisation, through the act of creation.

With People Horizons, my aspiration is to open windows in the world of work through art and play, building connection and the emotional resilience that is the bedrock of mental wellbeing.

”

Marta Pawlikowska

1. Linkedin

• Language, Literature and Theatre graduate, University of Wroclaw, Poland

• Dramatic Art graduate, Nancy Tuñon y Jordi Oliver Actors School & Eólia, Spain

• Masters in Cultural Studies, University of Groningen, Netherlands

• Masters in Expressive Arts Therapy, IABTA, Spain

• Actress and performance artist

• 10 years´ project and event management experience in Poland and Spain

• 10 years´ experience in Expressive Arts Therapy – applied in a wide range of settings: social, clinical, corporate, educational, and personal development

• More than 5 years´ experience as a clinical supervisor, tutor and trainer of Drama and Arts Therapists

• English, Spanish, and Polish speaker

“

When I was a child, in difficult moments I would sit in a corner and paint stories of the life that I wished for myself. I would cut out the characters, colour their faces, construct their houses with my grandmother´s kitchen utensils. I would fill exercise books with their stories, and, in the solitude of my bedroom, play at being them.

In the intimacy of my secret theatre, with no pretension of being anything more than a game, I discovered love, complex relationships, desires, and, also, sadness and pain.

Then, I did not call this art, or expression, or even creativity. I didn´t give it words; it was just something I needed to do…

Art has saved my life – many times already. I believe that artistic expression – what the act itself enables us to express and create and question and transform – is an innate quality in every human being and a basic human need. The act of creation is an act of enquiry, of perception, of feeling. We connect with whatever is living and growing inside us, whether we are aware of what this is or not.

The use of art to open doors and a holistic approach to wellbeing is what drives People Horizons – and my commitment to it.

”