Merseyside artists exhibit for Liverpool Mental Health Festival
During the first two weeks of October, Liverpool will see its first ever Mental Health Festival take over venues across the city with free events and activities geared towards promoting good mental wellbeing and challenging stigma. The entire programme of events is free, with lots of opportunities to get involved, take part and get creative.
In May, organisers Liverpool Mental Health Consortium invited people from Liverpool and Merseyside to submit artwork for this year’s art exhibition with the theme “Respect”, to be shown at Unit 51/Baltic Creative in October. It became apparent after only a few weeks that the number of submissions would outgrow the exhibition space and Constellations, only a few streets away from Unit 51, offered to become a second exhibition space.
An independent panel, consisting of local artists and creative minds working with people experiencing mental distress, was tasked with the incredibly tough job of selecting the artwork for the exhibition. The result is a compelling showcase of art including paintings and sculpture, threaded together by issues of mental distress in the context of “Respect”.
Claire Stevens, Development Manager at Liverpool Mental Health Consortium, said: “Over the last two years, the art exhibition has gone from strength to strength and is a great example of how the festival provides a platform for people with lived experience of mental distress to take part and express themselves. We hope that the exhibition will provoke and delight in equal measures”.
The organisers are particularly pleased to secure the endorsement of internationally acclaimed artists Amrit and Rabindra Singh again this year. Best known as “The Singh Twins”, the sisters explore cultural, social and political issues of global significance within a highly decorative and often witty narrative style and said they are “delighted to be named as patrons of the art exhibition”.
Launching on 7th October at Unit 51 and on 10th October (World Mental Health Day), at Constellations, the exhibition will be on show until Sunday 16th October. Please check for opening hours on the venues’ websites.
Constellations will also host “Art for Wellbeing” on Sunday 16th October (11am – 3pm): an invitation to use the event space for free to draw, paint, knit and natter. Constellations will make basic drawing materials available and invites local art groups to bring their own materials in order to get people involved and promote their classes. Young and old are welcome to get creative and celebrate the final day of Liverpool Mental Health Festival.