Preview Busting the Blues 21 January 2020 at Blue Door Gallery Earlsdon

‘Busting The Blues’ was opened by the Lord Mayor of Coventry Councillor Linda Bigham on Blue Monday 20th January 2020 with a poignant speech and a Haiku poem she wrote for this occasion. We all appreciated her thoughts on how the creative process can transport you into a better frame of mind and away from ruminating about negatives.

WENT TO ARTY-FOLKS
FOUND ENLIGHTENMENT THERE TODAY
MY PATH IS NOW LIT UP

Above: The Lord Mayor with our staff team Lorella, Liz, Karen and Laura

A huge THANK YOU to everyone for coming to the opening and your fantastic feedback and encouragement.  It was an amazing afternoon packed with exhibiting members and their families, as well as our partners Groundwork Coventry, Heart of England Community Foundation, CWPT Recovery & Wellbeing Academy, Lloyds Bank Foundation for England & Wales, Voluntary Action Coventry and many more.

All the artwork in this exhibition was created by members of Arty-Folks who attend one of our four weekly art groups, and each piece had to be completed within 8-15 hours! The way we work as a mental health charity with art is unique as we challenge our members to step out of their comfort zone and to face the fear of failure. Every project feels like ‘sink or swim’, but members always surprise themselves by what they can achieve when thrown in the deep end.

We are immensely proud of our members achievements and all the hard work and dedication that went into the work on show. It’s a real celebration of the journey people have made to better mental health through art and peer support.

Visitors feedback:
“Great exhibition with some fantastic stories.”
“Beautiful poignant artwork, thought provoking and really moved me.”
“Thank you for sharing such beautiful and expressive works of art”
“Loved this exhibition! You have inspired me to think of different ways to be creative. So much talent and imagination on show!”
“I loved reading the narratives with the artwork and understanding the intentions of the artists. Very inspiring!”