About the project
I would be here if I could, has grown into the UK’s largest collaborative social art project, co-created with individuals living with ME and Long Covid.
What began as a single question from a bed has evolved into a nationwide movement, inviting hundreds of people to take part.
This is social art at scale — a space for many to express their creative voices and be heard beyond physical boundaries.
Through stories and memories, these messages tell of special times and places, amplifying the absence from the lives they once lived.
Every message can be seen and heard on the message map, and the journey of the Mirrorbox has now begun. Over the next few years, it will travel to message locations across the UK.
Our mission is to enable people with ME and Long Covid to be seen and heard through the shared love, memory, and experience of place; so we all feel connected to a wider sense of belonging.
About the artist
Alison Larkman is a Bristol-based artist living with life-altering M.E. She created the project after months of being housebound and dreaming about where she would be if she could. Her work explores themes of invisibility, fragility and the unseen. A former international rower, Alison studied at Chelsea College of Art, Newlyn Art School and Spike Island. In between those times, she has run businesses, worked with Hell’s Angels and retreated with M.E.
You can find more about Alison’s artwork at alisonlarkman.com.
About the team
We are a small team running a big project. Over 60% of the team are living with ME and Long Covid. We come from lived experience and as such a place of deep understanding.
So many people living with chronic illness and disability have experience and great skills but cannot commit to traditional working patterns due to the fluctuating nature of their conditions. We are looking to challenge that.
We have created role-sharing processes to enable and support multiple people to be part of our team (some of our team work as little as 2 hrs a week but still make valuable contributions). For every role, applicants must have the skills and experience we are looking for but the time they are able to work is flexible and open to discussion.
If this is you, and your skills and experience match any roles we are advertising (current vacancies are posted in project updates), please get in contact, we want to hear from you.