When Mosaik Experiences first began, its mission was to create cultural experiences that used the power of the arts and culture to inspire connection, community, and belonging. A number of years and a global pandemic later, and Mosaik is as vital as ever, with a loneliness epidemic looming over our most vulnerable and a deep desire for connection found in most.
While Mosaik’s original audience was predominantly the elderly and people living with a disability, its focus in a post-pandemic world has shifted to include almost everyone, from office workers to school children. Now, as a social enterprise, Mosaik delivers creative and cultural workshops involving dancing, music, food, and arts to people from all walks of life.
As part of an up-and-coming purpose-driven business, co-founder and CEO (Chief Empathy Officer) Karina was accepted into Hub’s 2022 Flexi-Impact Program, giving her the opportunity to work from our space at Hub Collins Street for the entire year. Her membership gives her access to our community, workspaces, and exclusive member benefits to help her continue to grow her impact in 2022.
We sat down with Karina to have a chat about Mosaik Experiences, her time so far as a Flexi-Impact member, and the wellbeing program she just launched in July.
What is Mosaik Experiences?
Mosaik Experiences is a social enterprise that exists to combat social isolation and loneliness. We create authentic cultural experiences by using the power of the arts and culture as a vehicle to improve wellbeing, embrace diversity and inclusion, and enhance quality of life.
What makes Mosaik unique is our holistic approach to wellbeing, not only aiming to positively influence people’s physical, emotional, and mental health, but also seeking to create work opportunities for migrant professionals and artists.
What are some of the services you offer?
Our main service is the creative and cultural workshops and programs we host. These involve using cultural elements like music, dance, arts and crafts, food, and language to create ‘Authentic Cultural Experiences’ for people in the community and bring them together, whether they be a corporate team or people in an aged care facility.
We also offer interactive entertainment, ranging from a 15-minute energiser or flashmob to carnival dancing, perfect for private functions, festivals, conferences and even fundraising events.
Just this year we also launched our wellbeing program, Creative Connections, in partnership with the Social Enterprise Network Victoria (SENVIC) and Moral Fairground.
Tell us a bit more about the wellbeing program
Creative Connections is an evidence-based program that uses positive psychology and engaging creative activities to help social entrepreneurs feel connected and develop strategies to be healthier, happier, and more resilient. It’s a seven-week program designed around the six elements of the PERMAH wellbeing and happiness framework, with each session of activities (dancing, art therapy, music, theatre, singing, and laughing) related to a pillar of PERMAH (positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, accomplishment, and health).
We created this program to help build a network, and motivate attendees to share experiences, lessons learnt, and challenges in life as a social entrepreneur. We also want to help them develop tools and skills in implementing wellbeing initiatives for themselves and for their business. There’s no obligation to attend all seven sessions, and people can drop in and out as they wish. We’ve tried to make it as easy as possible for attendees, which is why it’s completely free and occurs after business hours (5.30pm to 7pm) on Thursdays over July and August.
“Cultivating wellbeing is so important as a social entrepreneur. We’re not expecting people to be great at the activities…the purpose is to feel free, not think about any judgement, and just experience it. Let your body go and have an open mindset.”
We’re currently in week four of our pilot round of the wellbeing program, and it’s been so inspiring to see people from all sorts of social enterprises and backgrounds connect with one another.
What has your experience been like as a Hub Flexi-Impact member?
For social entrepreneurs like me, Hub offers the ideal community. The impact-driven ethos at Hub means there’s a whole range of different organisations that come together in the space that find commonality with their shared values. I feel really connected, even though I’m only coming in once or twice a week.
I’m also exploring opportunities to offer the wellbeing program and Mosaik’s services to the Hub community, as a way to add to the already strong sense of community, collaboration, and connection in the space.
What’s next for Mosaik Experiences?
As I mentioned, we’re still in the pilot phase of our wellbeing program with four weeks to go of the initial program on offer. This is very much the testing phase, and will help us collect data, insights, and feedback so we can expand the program. Looking to the future, I’m hoping to find sponsors to keep the program going.
I want to offer the program to more than just people from social enterprises—I believe it can be valuable for everyone. I’m really excited to build a wellbeing community and continue offering our services to diverse audiences to inspire self-connection and a sense of belonging.
If you’re part of a social enterprise and you’re interested in joining the first round of the Creative Connections wellbeing program, there are still three weeks left. Book your spot through humanitix.
Find out more about our Flexi-Impact Program here.
