Over the course of three weeks in August 2025, Letters to Forever transformed the historic St Peter’s Church into a home for remembrance, creativity, and connection—drawing more than 2,000 visitors.
The exhibition reimagined over 200 personal letters of grief and reflection as visual installations, soundscapes, scent pieces, video works, and live performances. Curated and led by Natalia Millman, and supported by Arts Council England in partnership with Cruse Bereavement Support, it offered a deeply thoughtful exploration of loss, love, and resilience.
At its heart were the letters—words written in moments of grief, memory, and love—brought to life through drawing, movement, sound, and space. Rather than providing answers, Letters to Forever invited visitors to pause, to feel, and to connect—whether in solitude or together. Many of the participants who contributed letters also attended the exhibition, seeing their words transformed into art and shared with others. The experience was multigenerational, with people of all ages—young and old—taking part and finding resonance.
The exhibition was enriched by a vibrant Public Programme: four holistic workshops, an artist talk, a film screening and performance, and an opening launch attended by the Mayor of St Albans, community organisations, UK and international grief experts and researchers, and many creatives. Two workshops were dedicated to the Ukrainian community and companions of people with dementia, reflecting the project’s commitment to inclusion and care. All these events were fully booked.
Exhibition was made accessible offering audio-description of pieces. Interactive and participatory elements were popular with young and neuro-divergent visitors.
Collaboration was at the core of Letters to Forever. St Peter’s Church had never hosted a project of this kind before, and its historic architecture was elevated by the presence of art, sound, and stories of grief—blending space and theme in ways that felt deeply resonant. Numerous collaborations shaped the work, from partnerships with Cruse Bereavement Support offering a safe space and resources to artist’s own creative growth in artistic practice and project management. These relationships and learnings became part of the exhibition’s fabric, expanding its reach and depth.
Hazel Edwards, South East Area Director at Arts Council England, reflected:
“‘Letters to Forever’ is a remarkable demonstration of how art can touch our most profound emotions, creating empathy and connection. This project isn’t just about grief; it’s about the beauty of the human experience.”
EXHIBITION TOUR
AUDIO-DESCRIBED EXHIBITION TOUR
PERFORMANCE AND FILM SCREENING
in collaboration with Casey Francis www.madtruth.co.uk
Letters to Forever, is a deeply personal and experimental film and sound performance by multimedia artist Casey Francis and visual artist Natalia Millman. Created over nine months of remote collaboration, this work brings together two parallel yet intersecting journeys through grief, healing and transformation.
Combining archival family footage, analogue and digital photographs, poetry, field recordings, and a layered soundscape of acoustic and electronic instrumentation, the piece invites audiences into an emotional terrain that is both intimate and universal. Fragmented in form, the story resists linear resolution — instead flowing like memory itself: disjointed, recursive and deeply felt. Audiences are asked not just to watch, but to feel their way through, assembling meaning from emotional fragments. (continue).
FEATURES
Letters to Forever: Using Art to Express and Share Grief a panel discussion by Good Grief Festival
In conversation with Estelle Lovatt, art critic, writer, lecturer and broadcaster.
Boom Saloon Demo Days - September 2025
Studio International: Visual Arts, Design and Architecture
St Albans church art exhibition explores grief and healing | Herts Advertiser
The power of letters - 5 Aug 2025 - Best - UK Magazine
Considering Art Podcast – Natalia Millman, multi-media conceptual artist – Considering Art
Episode 15 - St Albans Podcast with Danny Smith
Ep. 23. Letters to Forever: Transforming Grief into Art with Natalia Millman
Natalia’s Story: From Personal Grief to Collective Healing - Cruse Bereavement Support
Letters to Forever – Art Exhibition - Hertfordshire's MIX 92.6
Boom Saloon- Response Feature - Letters to Forever
Culturalee in Conversation with Natalia Millman - Culturalee
NATALIA MILLMAN, EXPLORING LOSS THROUGH ART - Leslie Tate
Out of Grief Comes Art - and More - Let's Talk About Loss
TESTIMONIALS
“We journeyed to St Albans yesterday, to catch the final day of an incredibly powerful show. Grief - what a thing to explore - so emotional. This exhibition was so moving - artful - inclusive - super sensory. One of the best artful experiences I’ve had in a long time.” D
"I was really moved by the exhibition. The way the wind was blowing through the doors and adding movement to the work felt perfect. I even found myself rereading the letters I had written, which brought a heaviness, but also reminded me of the care and respect you gave to the stories people shared. It was a big weight to carry, yet you held it with real steadiness and transformed it into something powerful. The artworks that wove together the shared experiences of loss felt particularly poignant for me. Thank you for weaving our stories together — and a huge well done. This project is something to be very proud of." A
“My friend sent me the link about your project because she and I had been writing in a book we entitled our "grief book" for some time. I realized that we don't often share what we hold in our deepest selves out loud and the book was a freeing way to share, without the same shame and burden; or at least in a different way. Possibly a less vulnerable way. My grief is multi-layered and writing for your project helped me see that more clearly. “ G
